Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity
by sstsau
Summary: It is Harry, Ron, and Hermione's 6th year now and Dark omens start to appear. The three friends struggle to unravel the mystery, coming across many secrets of the past, present, and future....
1. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

Author's note: This story was not only created by me. It is origionally my friend David Devrise's idea. Together, we created what lies under this note, so I cannote take full credit of the work. This is our first fanfiction so don't think too badly of us!! Oh, yeah. The characters in this story do not belong to David or me unless they do not appear in the original Harry Potter series. I'm talking too much. Please review and enjoy the story!

CHAPTER ONE

AWAKENING

The gem pulsed with a green light. It slowly felt a sense of awakening. As it awoke, it realized something. It had powers and it had a purpose. What this purpose was, it didn't know, but it was content just to be there.

The surface of the gem glowed. It looked like an emerald, but more exotic. It's colors flashed with brilliance, and the shape represented a skull. The top was larger and the bottom was squared smaller. If you looked really closely, dark patches appeared on the gem, where the holes of a real skull were. No one not realizing that would catch it.

As the gem's light grew stronger, it noticed where it was. It seemed to be in a cavern. Roots were hanging from the ceiling and the light from the gem was the only thing lighting inside it. The gem noted that it was buried.

The gem knew that it wouldn't take long for it to gain enough power to escape this underground burial, and find its purpose. Its lights flashed even brighter as it felt that it was going to power over something as it had done several years ago. Its lights reduced again to a dull pulse. Its time would come, but now, it needed rest...

The pulsing fainted and finally diminished, as the gem went back into resting. The cavern darkened, and it seemed that nothing had happened. It felt as if everything was right...

***

Harry Potter stood by his window and stared out onto the driveway of Privet #4. A light breeze flew in and moved his messy black hair. His gaze slowly shifted to the west, where the sun was setting, and he watched the brilliant colors morph and change, until they turned black. Stars twinkled where the darkness had fallen.

Harry sighed and observed the glittering, white specs in the night. He could identify quite a few, because at Hogwarts (the school Harry went to), they had a class that taught them the names and movements of stars and planets. 

Hogwarts was a wizarding school, and Harry attended it because he was becoming a wizard like his mum and dad. Lily and James Potter had also gone to Hogwarts. They were both Head Girl and Head Boy at their time. When they had lived, Lord Voldemort had been in power, and he targeted the Potters. The Dark Lord had come one night to kill them. Harry's dad had tried to hold Voldemort by fighting him while Lily took Harry and ran, but he had failed. James had died and Lord Voldemort cornered Lily and the infant Harry. Lily had sacrificed herself so that Harry would live on, and when Voldemort turned his wand on the one-year old, his powers vanished. Voldemort's self had been ripped out of his body. He was still alive, but barely. 

Harry had lived and became famous in the wizard's world. Because Harry had no relatives to live with, he was sent to the Dursleys. Petunia Dursley was Lily's sister, but only in blood. The whole family were muggles, non-wizarding people, and they acted more like muggles than they should.

The Dursleys didn't want Harry to become a wizard, so they hid his true identity. But on his eleventh birthday, Harry had the truth told to him, and he went to Hogwarts. At the school, Harry had made many friends. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were two of them.

Suddenly, Harry's thoughts vanished as Dudley Dursley, his cousin, came up the stairs. As Dudley is five times larger than Harry is, he makes a lot of noise going anywhere.

Harry noticed that his books, homework and wand were on his bed. He quickly grabbed them and put them in his trunk. If Dudley saw them out, he would probably run screaming down the stairs, "Harry's trying to curse me!!!" Although Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia knew that Harry was not allowed to do magic outside of his school, they blamed him for anything weird that happened around them. Since they all hated him, they would most likely believe Dudley's hysterical screaming.

To Harry's surprise and great relief, Dudley did not barge into his room, trying to find anything that would get him in trouble. He sighed, and sat down on his bed. Then his heart sank. He just remembered that he didn't have a ride to King's Cross Station for tomorrow, and he would have to ask Uncle Vernon for one. He wasn't sure if it was going to work.

Groaning aloud, Harry reluctantly pulled himself out of bed and made his way downstairs. Vernon Dursley was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper. 

"Er...Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked uncertainly.

Uncle Vernon looked up from the newspaper and said harshly, "What is it boy?"

"Er...I need a ride to London tomorrow to the train station. Um...can you take me?"

With an evil look on his face, Vernon said, "Let's see.... Do I have anything in London tomorrow. I don't think so..." He stared at Harry for a few seconds and then looked back at the paper.

"Well, then. I guess I'll have to ask someone else. My friends can't so...I guess I'll ask my godfather."

At that, his uncle's face contorted into fury and he said without looking up at Harry, "Fine. I'll take you."

Harry smiled. Sirius Black was his godfather and the Dursleys were very scared that he would come and hex them all, because Black was a convicted murderer, and Harry had "forgotten" to tell the Dursleys that he was innocent. It was quite convenient at times, because now, the Dursleys actually listened to him at times.

Harry made his way back up the stairs and went into his room. He heard something tapping at the windows and looked up. Hedwig, his snowy owl was trying to get in. Quickly, Harry went and opened the window. Hedwig flew in and landed on his shoulder. Harry stroked her and gave her a treat before realizing that she had a letter tied to her leg. He took the letter, and opened it.

_Harry- _

I know that you're going back to Hogwarts soon, and I just wanted to remind you not to get yourself into trouble. Now that Voldemort is back, you, Ron, and Hermione have to be extra careful. Stay inside the castle and don't go looking for trouble. Have a good 6th year. I might visit you sometime.

Sirius

Harry took out a quill and a parchment. He quickly wrote:

_Sirius-_

I will try and stay out of trouble. I promise. Since Voldemort is back, the school will be much stricter. I hope to see you soon.

**__**

Harry

Hedwig stuck her leg out and Harry tied the letter to it. He stroked her and said, "Find him, alright?" Hedwig hooted and nipped at his glasses before taking off into the night. 

Harry watched his owl disappear before closing the window. He looked around to make sure that everything was packed. It was, and Harry contently went to bed.

He thought about being at Hogwarts the next day with all his friends. He could hardly wait. Harry grinned to himself and fell asleep.

***

That night, Harry tossed and turned in bed. A green gem kept surfacing in his mind about returning to Hogwarts. He woke up suddenly. What did it mean? 

CHAPTER TWO

AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE

The next day, Harry forgot about the strange gem when he saw his friends. Ron and Hermione were already at Platform 9 3\4 when he arrived, after a very "bumpy" ride with Uncle Vernon to the train station. 

"Hey, Harry!" Hermione shouted as he went through the barrier. Ron stood by her and waved.

Harry waved back and walked towards them, dragging his luggage behind him. The last time that he had seen them was in Diagon Alley a month ago. They had gone there to buy school equipment.

"Hello," he said as he got to them and all three of them turned to store their luggage on the train.

After pulling and pushing, they managed to get all of their luggage on board. Then Harry and Ron listened to Hermione's long story about how surprised that she was to be named a prefect again.

"When I got my letter, I thought that it was just a normal Hogwarts letter, but when I opened it...how surprised I was!!"

Then, she took out the letter and shoved it really close to the boys' faces.

"You see? Read that! Where they wrote:

Hermione Granger-

I am proud to inform you that you are again a prefect of our school. It is a great opportunity and I hope that you make the best out of it.

Isn't that great?!"

"Ye..."

"And read that!!! I was so happy I was about to use some magic to celebrate, but good thing I remembered that I couldn't. No use in being an expelled prefect. I hope I get to be Head Girl next year!! Instead of using magic to celebrate, I..."

The intercom said, "ALL STUDENTS ABOARD. THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS IS LEAVING!!"

"...And then Mummy and Daddy were so proud of me they..."

"Er...Hermione?" Harry asked timidly.

"We went shopping at the mall. That's where all theses shops are put together into one large store. After that, Mummy and Daddy took me to this really delicious muggle restaurant called-"

"Hermione!!! Shut up! The train's leaving. Tell us the rest on board!" Ron yelled, shaking her.

"Oh...Sorry..." Hermione said and turned many shades pink.

Ron sighed and shook his head solemnly. Then he said in an exasperated tone, "Let's go."

***

Hermione was very quiet afterwards, even when Harry asked her, "So...What happened after that?"

"Uh...We ate there." She said and looked at her hands.

Ron was staring out the window as Hermione spoke and Harry felt very awkward. In another attempt to start a conversation, he asked Ron, "So, what did you do this summer, Ron?"

It didn't work. "The same," is all Ron said as a reply.

Harry bit his lip and said, "Well, Sirius wrote to me. He told us to be careful, now that Voldemort is back and all..."

Ron and Hermione flinched at the word _Voldemort. _There was a very long period of silence. 

"Yeah. Dad's been working a lot at the Ministry and Mom says that he's going to die of overwork someday," Ron said. He laughed. "I haven't seen him a lot. The same goes for Percy, now that he is the Minister of Magic's assistant." This topic seemed to get Ron to talk, although Harry would've preferred something more cheery.

Ron turned to face Harry. "Do you know that You-Know-Who already has four countries in his power?" Harry shook his head. "I thought so. They said that he's coming after Hogwarts next." Ron looked away. "Take Hogwarts, take the world."

Harry knew that Ron must feel differently than how he was expressing. He knew that Ron cared a lot that his father and brother were gone from the house most of the time because of Voldemort. He knew that Voldemort could do this to a family. Since he was back in power, he was wrecking the world that had just started to forget the misery and the fear... He knew, because he had no parents...for the exact same reason...

Hermione slowly turned to face Ron.

"I'm sorry that you're dad and Percy are never home. That you don't get to spend time with them." She looked up at him. "It's You-Know-Who's fault Ron. You can't blame yourself."

Ron looked at Hermione and slowly showed his first real smile. Hermione grinned back at him, showing her now straight and perfect teeth. 

Harry felt much better. This is how it was usually. Even if Voldemort was back, Harry didn't want to stay scared. He knew that his friends felt the same way. They just had a hard time showing it.

Ron and Hermione smiled happily at each other for a long time and Harry forced his laughter down, but when the lady with the cart suddenly came and interrupted them, Harry laughed so hard that his insides hurt. Hermione and Ron flushed red but joined in, choking from trying to stop.

When at last, sanity came upon them again; the trio went and bought candy. There favorites had always been Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts every flavored beans. They got those and other treats, then sat down to eat them.

Hermione finished telling them her story. "Mummy bought me an owl and Crookshanks isn't very pleased about that. He always hisses at Lenter when he sees him."

"By the way, where is Crookshanks?"

"Oh. He's probably wandering around the train. I put him in when I got here and I put Lenter over there." She pointed at a sleeping tawny owl in its cage.

"Pig is out on an errand. I brought his cage though," Ron said.

Harry laughed. "So that's why it's so quiet in here!"

The three of them went into another hysterical fit of laughing and they were numb when they stopped.

"Well, Hedwig's out sending my letter to Sirius. I hope he's okay."

"Yeah," Hermione nodded. "I would hate if they caught him or if You-Know-Who got him." There was another slight pause. "You-Know-Who has already killed the Monosens and the Ketlets. He's also started to perform muggle murders again."

"Well, we shouldn't think about that. Dumbledore is already planning a rebellion. Anyways, Sirius says that he might visit us sometime," Harry added.

"I would like tha..." but just then, Ginny Weasley walked in.

"Hello," Ron's younger sister greeted.

"Hi."

Ginny stopped smiling as she looked around. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared dully at her. "What's the matter?" She said looked at them with a question.

"Oh...Nothing..." Hermione said as she turned away.

Ginny looked hurt. "Hermione! I don't keep secrets from you! Now _what's going on_?" Ginny asked again.

"Er..." Harry began, but suddenly, Draco Malfoy sauntered in. Crabbe and Goyle were on either side of him, like body guards. Malfoy crossed his arms, cocked his head, and looked at the four of them.

"Well, if it isn't the bunch of losers," Malfoy sneered.

Just once, Harry wished that Malfoy wouldn't bug them. Every time they came on the Hogwarts Express, Draco would barge in on them, acting like king.

Draco Malfoy was looking more and more like his father, Lucius Malfoy. His yellow \ silver hair, his pale pointed face, his gray eyes... They resembled his dad in every way. 

Harry heard Hermione say," Shut up, Malfoy, and get out."

"Ooh...Granger. I'm surprised that a mudblood like you hasn't been finished off by the Dark Lord yet."

Ron almost stepped out to grab Draco. Mudblood was a very insulting word to call a muggle-born witch or wizard. 

"What Malfoy, scared to say _Voldemort's_ name?" Harry said. Malfoy tried to conceal a flinch, but Harry saw it. "You shouldn't be, 'cause your father is one of his closest supporters."

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "...And how would you know that, Potter?" he spat.

"I've seen him." Harry stared back.

"You've got no proof-"

"I don't need any. You and I know the truth. Now..._Get out."_ Harry said slowly.

Malfoy blinked. "What if we don't want to? Huh, Potter?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron drew out their wands at the same time. They had done this many times before.

Malfoy smirked. "You always need back-up don't you, Potter?" But he was staring at the wands. "Can't do anything yourself? Just like your no-good parents...."

That was too far. 

"_Relashio!"_ Harry yelled and sparks emitted from his wand. Malfoy covered his face and yelled as it got burned. He stepped backwards and Harry once again repeated, "_Get out, now!" _He was ready to curse Draco, but Malfoy seemed to be leaving.

Draco backed up. He knew that staying any longer would get him severly hexed and cursed, but as he went, he said, "One day - one day you will all see the wrath of the Dark Lord." He stared hard at the three of them, then motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him as he left.

The trio retracted their wands. Hermione looked at Harry and said, "You shouldn't have done that, Harry."

"Well, unlike you, I don't have a patience for people like Malfoy when they insult my parents," Harry answered as he put his wand in his pocket. 

Ron was staring at the door where Draco and them had just exited out of. He looked back and saw Ginny who was looking very uncomfortable. She fidgeted her hands nervously and was biting her lip. 

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Ginny. You know that Malfoy's just being..."

"Oh...I'm fine. It's just that I was thinking of Daddy. He's always gone and everything. Also...What if You-Know-Who really conquers the world this time? What can stop him now?" she looked at Harry, then quickly to the floor. "You should dress now. We're almost there..." and with that, she left, very quickly.

There was a long pause of silence. It seemed funny to Harry how silence could ring in your ears so loud. Then, Ron said, "Hermione...We need to change so..."

"Oh! Yeah. I'm leaving."

She grabbed her robes and also left. 

Harry and Ron changed, then settled down on the seats.

"It was very harsh of Malfoy to say that about your parents, you know?" Ron said.

"It's alright. Malfoy's just like that."

Harry grabbed a Chocolate Frog and opened it. He ate the chocolate and looked for the card. It was lying on the floor. It must've fallen out.

Harry bent over and picked the card up. He looked at it and gasped. It was...Voldemort.

"What?! Ron! Ron! Look at this card! It's Voldemort!"

Ron reacted the same way as Harry. "Wha-at?!" he yelled.

"Look! Read this!"

Lord Voldemort was a powerful dark wizard, who was said to only be afraid of Albus Dumbledore, the Hogwarts headmaster. In Voldemort's reign, he terrorized all the wizards and witches, and using fear, got many of them to follow him. He killed all those who opposed him. He is also known for mass muggle murders and having dementors and giants as followers. Many are still terrified of him, even after he met his downfall by Harry Potter, and they refer to him as You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. It is said that The Dark Lord has once again risen to power in the past year. Although many hate him, some still refer to him as the greatest dark wizard of our time.

"That's stupid! Why would they make a card of Him?" Ron asked.

"I dunno," Harry said. 

"Ron took the card from him and looked at it. ""Uck! Throw it away Harry...He just looks so-so..."

But Harry didn't need Ron's description. He had met the Dark Lord in person, and he never wanted to again.

Ron gagged again and threw the card at Harry. He got it, and looked down at the picture. Voldemort had his back turned on the onlooker, but slowly, he rotated and looked straight into Harry's eyes. Their vision locked on for a second or two, but Harry's head started to burn. He broke his gaze from the card and put a hand up to his scar.

"Ow!" Harry said sharply.

"What is it? What are you doing with that card? Give it here!!"

Harry barely heard this. 

Again, the stone appeared in his mind, but this time, it rotated slowly, and morphed into Voldemort's face. His bony features, his flat nose, his cold, red eyes...

__

"No! Not Harry! Kill me instead!" Lily Potter's voice sounded.

__

Flash!

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

The light was blinding, but the curse rebounded. Then... when the light faded, the green stone appeared once more..._Why?_

"Ouch!" Harry snapped awake. Hermione stood over him. She had poked him with her wand. Harry blinked. He saw Ron on his left, tearing the card up and putting it in flames.

"There!" he said triumphantly.

"Ron!" Hermione squealed. "Don't light a fire on a train!" She rounded on him and yelled about safety.

Harry sat up. He was a bit dizzy, so he blinked again and shook his head.

Hermione squirted water from her wand and the fire went out with a hiss...

"Hmmph!" she muttered.

Ron groaned and mumbled a few words. Then he turned to Harry and asked, "Are you alright?"

Harry nodded. "I'm fine," he answered, but he didn't feel that way. The stone was on his mind, also, his mum's voice. The last time that he had heard that was in his third year...

Ron looked down at the floor and said, "The train stopped."

Harry looked up at him, then down. The train wasn't moving.

"Yeah!" Hermione yelled, apparently frustrated with their ignorance. "The sorting is about to happen! Hurry! Let's go!" She breathed in and left.

Harry shrugged and the two of them followed her. When they got out of the train, Harry heard the familiar voice of Hagrid, calling the first years over to him. Harry looked over his shoulder towards the half-giant. A long line of first years followed him down a path.

The bunch of sixth years gathered together and started down another path. This is how they were getting to Hogwarts apparently. The road went through a dark patch of trees, then it followed a small stream.

"Wonder who the defense against dark arts teacher is going to be this year." Ron said.

"Maybe Lupin is back," Harry said hopefully.

Professor Lupin was their third year Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Every year, another teacher had taught them that class. Many believed it to be cursed. Lupin was the best teacher they had ever had, but, he was a werewolf. Lupin had also been James Potter's friend. In their third year, Harry and them had found that out, and the fact that Black was innocent. 

"Yuck! What if we get another teacher like Lockhart?" Ron asked.

"Don't think about it," Harry said, thinking about the obnoxious teacher they had in their second year.

From behind them, Neville Longbottom gave a small whimper. Harry and Ron swerved around and faced him.

"What's wrong, Neville?"

"Lupin isn't back, and the teacher isn't like Lockhart at all. It's worse." Neville bit his lip and trembled, before saying, "It's _Snape._"


	2. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

Author's note: This is chapter 3 in the story. Please review. Sorry to all those who already read this story and thought it was too long. I messed up and put all that I have typed so far onto the web page. I am trying to put the chapters one by one on the page so bear with me! Please review.

CHAPTER THREE

BACK IN THE CASTLE

"What?" Ron and Harry asked together. Neville only nodded meekly.

"Oh, no!" Ron said, exasperated. "Now we have _two_ classes with him!" he hit his head in frustration. "Arg!"

"Ron! Gosh! You know that he hates me more!" Harry reported.

Ron seemed to calm down. "Yeah, anyone would figure that out easily enough."

Hermione had gone ahead. Now she doubled back to find the two boys. "What are you two doing? Hurry up!"

"Hermione," Ron groaned, "guess who the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher is this year?"

Hermione thought for awhile, then shrugged. "I dunno...who?"

"Snape," Ron spat harshly.

"Oh, really? That's not good...how'd you find out?"

"Neville," Harry said calmly.

"Well, you know...maybe Malfoy was trying to scare him." Hermione said in a way that clearly stated, _he's lying_.

"Maybe! But possibly _not_!" Ron said bitterly.

"Gosh, Ron!" Hermione looked at him with confused eyes. "Don't be so sour. It could be worse you know?"

"Like how?" Ron yelled.

Harry bit his lip and left Ron to be in his bad mood. He heard Hermione stutter, trying to find something worse than having Snape for two classes.

Harry looked fondly at the tall trees and the small stream. He had never been in this part of Hogwarts before. And mentioning Hogwarts, the view of the magnificent castle suddenly appeared as they got out from under the thicket.

The castle was huge! It had many towering walls and doors at the bottom of them. Harry scanned the school and saw the familiar towers and rooms. The sight still fascinated him, although he had seen it many times.

The stream they were following emptied into the lake, and the sixth years all crossed a large bridge that led them up to the main doors of the school. They all filled in and went to the Great Hall.

Upon entering, the hall, a familiar sight met their eyes. The room was dimly lit by many candles floating over the long tables that had clean plates lying on them. At the far end of the Great Hall, a large banner hung on the wall. It had the signs for each house around a large letter H. The symbols were lion for Gryffindor, badger for Hufflepuff, raven for Ravenclaw, and a snake for Slytherin. 

As they all took their seats, Professor McGonagall led the first years onto the stage. The chatter died down as hundreds of eyes turned onto the frightened looks of the 11- year olds. They were in a single filled line and they all turned to face the other students, waiting for how they were going to be sorted. 

The professor put the three-legged stool on top of the stage also. Then she took the sorting hat and placed it on top of the stool.

All eyes turned on the stool, and Harry saw the first years' eyes dart around, then focus on the object of everyone's attention. They all watched in apprehension for what must've seemed like hours before a small rip formed on the tip of the hat, and it sang the sorting song.

The faces of the eleven-year olds showed more calmness when the song finished. All they had to do was put it on and the hat would tell them their house.

Professor McGonagall took out a list of the students' name and called the first. 

"Anklins, Marie!" her voice rang out into the hushed silence.

A brown haired girl walked out of line and put the hat on. After a few seconds, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

As usual, the students cheered, and Marie walked of toward her table. She sat down, looking sheepishly around.

Brinkly, Joseph, a small blond haired boy, and Catalong, April, a skinny, brunet haired girl became Griffindors. They went and sat on the opposite end as Harry and them.

Forelonder, Martin was a Slytherin, and Jenson, Ferry became a Hufflepuff.

Finally, after Zeniski, Vetil became a Griffindor (he sat by Ron), Dumbledore stood up.

"Let's eat," he simply said.

The golden plates magically filled up with food and the students all helped themselves to the feast. The first years' bewilderment changed quickly as they saw the meal.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione ate and talked, occasionally listening to the others. 

"So...Who's Pig delivering the letter to?" Hermione asked Ron.

"Oh," Ron said. "He's sending a letter to one of Dad's old friends. Percy is using his own owl and Errol...Well, you know that Errol is old, and he's just gotten back from a very long trip. He's in no condition to deliver another one."

"Hmm ...I wonder if Crookshanks is getting on all right. I haven't seen him ever since I put him on the train," Hermione said, thinking.

"I'm sure he's alright," Harry assured her.

"Yeah. That cat can take care of itself," Ron added.

Harry turned to look up at the teacher's table. He saw Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Hagrid, Flitwick, Trelawney, Sprout, and Snape at the table. Neville must've been right. There was no new teacher there that, so Snape must be teaching Defense Against Dark Arts and Potions.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said, nudging Ron's arm to get his attention.

"What?"

"Er...look at the teacher's table. I think that Snape is teaching both classes."

Ron turned and stared at the table. His eyes narrowed. "Maybe. Hopefully not."

He turned back to Hermione, who was conversing with Parvati. Harry turned his gaze also. He heard one of the first year Gryffindors ask nervously, "Is Professor Dumbledore really the only wizard that You-Know-Who is afraid of?"

"Yeah," a third year replied.

"Good," Harry heard April say from across the table. "We're safe then."

Vetil, the first year that sat by Ron, looked at the three of them. He had large eyes and dark brown hair. He was very small for his age, and resembled Colin Creevy.

The first year curiously asked, "What are your names?"

"Ron."

"Hermione."

"Harry."

Vetil seemed to stare intently with shock at them. "I've heard of you!" he said to Harry in an awed voice. "You survived when Voldemort tried to kill you."

The three of them were very taken aback by the mentioning of the Dark Lord's name. Vetil abruptly said oops in a small voice, as if he had accidentally let a secret slip.

"Hey, Vetil! Remember not to say his name!" Justin yelled from the end of the table.

"I know," Vetil shouted back. He turned to face Ron, Harry, and Hermione again. "I'm muggle born and I have to remember to say You-Know-Who instead of Vol- oops!"

Ron looked at Harry and rolled his eyes. "Better not let the Slytherins hear him say that."

Vetil looked at Ron and asked, "Say what?"

Hermione giggled and Ron sighed.

Vetil blinked a few times and looked strangely from Ron to Harry to Hermione. He asked, "What's so funny?"

Hermione laughed harder and Ron...who had been eating a spoonful of ice-cream (the food had changed to dessert), choked. Hermione hit him on the back, attempting to un-choke him while Vetil continued to stare at them with confusion.

"You people are weird," he said finally.

Hermione stopped laughing and took deep breaths to calm herself as Ron shook his head solemnly. 

Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron, then turned to see what the rest of the Griffindors were doing. They were all chatting constantly, like the rest of the students. 

Suddenly, Harry's eye caught onto a small girl sitting at the very end of the table, apparently alone. She had long wavy blonde hair and gray \ blue eyes. It seemed that she was staring straight at Harry, and when her vision connected with his, he shivered. 

__

I wonder what her name is. She looks sickly- too pale... Harry thought to himself.

He abruptly shook his head in a subtle way and turned back to see what Ron was doing. But the thought of the first year girl's look was stamped in his mind. She had looked sad... too sad...

***

After the feast, when everyone was full and tired, the prefects led the way back up to the Gryffindor tower.

"Dipplewink is the password."

Ron snickered but no one seemed to notice. All were yawning and looking sleepily around at their roommates. No one stayed up when they got into the Gryffindor Common Room. They all hurried up the stairs to their dormitories, and changed into their pajamas.

Harry got into his familiar four-postered bed and saw Ron do the same. He was about to talk to him, but when he started to converse, Ron simply mumbled. Harry decided not to bother him any more than he already was and turned to look up at the canvass of his bed.

Harry's mind once again set on the green gem.

__

A gem shaped like a skull. What's that mean?

Harry was almost a hundred percent sure that the stone had something to do with Voldemort. Why else would it have an evil presence to it?

***

"You're Late,' Hermione scolded as Ron and Harry ran into the Great Hall, out of breath.

"Sorry," Ron gasped. "Woke-up late."

Hermione tutted unapprovingly before handing them each a sheet of paper and saying, "Here are your schedules."

Ron grabbed his anxiously. 

"Hmm...We have Transfiguration first. Then...Potions," Ron ended with gritted teeth.

"Arg! Why do we always have Potions with the Slytherins?"

Hermione shrugged and started to eat her breakfast again.

Harry turned and took a glance at the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy saw him and gave him an extremely dirty look. Harry wasn't taken aback by this, because it was a fact that they loathed each other.

Ron said, "Hey, Harry. We have Herbology after Potions."

Ron's gaze followed Harry's; locking eyesight with Malfoy's sneering stare. Ron grimaced and gave a look of equal hatred back at Draco.

Harry turned away quickly and glanced at his watch. Classes were starting in a few minutes. He tried to eat quickly, but was interrupted swiftly by the arriving of the mail.

From their right, Ron, Hermione, and Harry heard the first year's gasp in surprise. Their shock quickly changed to amazement as they said in awe, "Ooh..."

Ron laughed. He turned to face Hermione and Harry. "Remember our first reaction to the arriving of the mail?"

"Yeah! I almost fell out of my seat!"

The three of them grinned at each other, then burst out into a hysterical fit of laughter. They kept talking about the past, still smiling (on the verge of laughing), as they made their way to the Transfiguration classroom. When they entered, Professor McGonagall gave them a very stern look and Hermione abruptly stopped giggling. 

They went to their seats in silence, watching the other students file into the classroom. Harry sat in between Ron and Hermione and all three of them took out their needed materials.

The professor slowly got up from her desk after everyone was seated and quiet. She made her way over to the front of the classroom and scanned the students with narrowed eyes. When she was sure they were all ready and prepared to go, she started to talk.

"This year, you are all going to learn how to transfigure things into animals." She paused. "By the end of this year, hopefully, you will all know how to transfigure yourselves."

An exited whisper swept through the room, but was quickly silenced by one look from the professor.

"Now," Professor McGonagall continued, "take notes."

There was a subtle rush as everyone made sure that they had a quill and a piece of parchment out.

Their assignment was to transfigure a piece of wood into a harmless garden snake. Harry prodded and poked at his slab of wood, managing to change it in a slight way. Green scales appeared on the board and it became flexible.

By the end of class, everyone had made a difference, even Neville. His board had become slender and twisty. Ron's board had thinned out and turned green, but out of the class, only Hermione's slab of wood had fully become a garden snake. She proudly showed it to Professor McGonagall who congratulated her with a smile.

***

"That was interesting," Hermione cheerfully said as the three of them made their way down the stairs to the potions classroom.

Ron groaned aloud. "That's 'cause your board actually turned into something!"

Hermione replied with a hurt voice. "Your piece of wood did something also!" she said shrilly.

Ron shrugged.

They became aware of the darkness around them as they walked on in silence. When they got to the classroom, only Seamus was there.

"Where are the rest of them?" Harry asked.

"I dunno. Late probably," Seamus replied, looking baffled.

The trio hesitantly sat down, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. All the Gryffindors came, but the Slytherins didn't show up. Even Snape was absent. 

They all sat nervously in their seat like something was wrong. Most of them fidgeted and mumbled occasionally. They all stared at each other in question.

When the bell rang for their next class, everyone swiftly left the room.

"I wonder what happened to all the Slytherins?" Harry questioned.

"Maybe..."Ron whispered excitedly, "they all got kicked out! Now we'll never see Malfoy again!"

Harry highly doubted that this had happened, but Ron's voice rose loudly into the sustained silence.

"And, I won't ever have to see Snape's big, fat, ugly..."

"POTTER! WEASLEY! GRANGER!"

The three of them stopped in their tracks and hesitantly spun around to face a sneering Professor Snape. They recoiled a bit from the professor's evil look.

"Where were you and the rest of the Gryffindors at Potions?" he asked.

We...er..." Ron seemed lost for words. 

Hermione came in, talking very quickly. "Proffesor, we went down to the dungeons but you and the rest of the Slytherins wern't there. We waited for the whole period but..."

"Quiet, Granger!" Professor Snape yelled. "The Potions room has moved to the Defense Against Dark Arts room! Why didn't you show up?"

They didn't answer.

"No brains perhaps?" Snape taunted menacingly.

"Professor, we..." Harry started, but he was abruptly cut off.

"Was it your idea Potter? Skipping class means _detention_."

"But..." they looked in shock at the sneer building up in the Potions mater's face.

Since," he said coldly. "I am feeling _nice_ today... I will merely take 35 points off Gryffindor."

"But!"

"Do not ever skip class again! Do you understand?"

The three of them nodded reluctantly and Snape's smirk grew even wider. "Good. You all have a nice day then," he seemed to enjoy taunting them. The professor took one last glance at them; then he turned and left with a swish of his cloak.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood rooted to the spot, fuming. 

"That i-i-idiot didn't even tell us the class moved! We didn't skip!" Ron sputtered angrily.

"Ron, calm down. At least we didn't get detention..." Hermione said soothingly.

But Ron was off again, mimicking Snape with a high squeaky voice. "Since I am feeling _niiiice_ today, I will merely take 35 points off of Gryffindor. And while I am at it, I might as well go and shove my head..."

"RON!" Hermione screeched. 

"Arg! It's so unfair! I wish that Snape would die!"

"You don't mean that, Ron." Hermione said sternly.

"Yes I do! And while he's at it, the Slytherins should all die also!"

"Er...Ron?" Harry said.

"They're so..."

"We have to get to Herbology," Harry finished quickly.

Ron spat out another groan of frustration. After he seemed calm enough to walk, the three of them made their way quietly to the greenhouse.

***

The gem had been gaining energy. Now it shone brightly with power. Its lights throbbed on the walls of the hole and it knew that the time had come for its resurrection. 

A thick fog started to emit from its surface, wrapping the gem in a blanket of color. There was a rumble, and the earth around it fell in. The smoke of color evaporated, and the gem levitated off the ground. It shimmered, and in a bright flash, it was gone. 

__


	3. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

__

Author's note: Chapter 4 in the story. Please review. Thank you to all who have so far.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Strange Sickness

Vetil really liked to follow Harry, Hermione, and Ron around. They found that out when Vetil bugged them the whole second day, trying to tell them about of his _great _first day.

They were walking outside of the castle, and Vetil, tagging along, kept talking and talking.

"In Transfiguration, I was the only one in the class who could turn my match into a needle!"

"Good for you. That's great," Hermione said, less enthusiastically than the last five times she had congratulated him on the same task.

"And in Potions, I answered everything right, but..."

"Snape took off points from Gryffindor because you were too into the lesson," Harry finished dully.

"_Professor _Snape," Vetil said.

Ron rolled his eyes. Harry could see that he was getting frustrated with the annoying first year.

"Oh! Is anything interesting happening for the us this year?" Vetil asked, his eyes glittering with anticipation.

"Do you mean the first years or the whole school?" Ron asked bitterly.

"Both!" Vetil replied, absolutely buoyant. 

__

He's really joyous. Almost hyper... Harry thought to himself.

"Oh! I just can't wait until Charms! I've heard that you get to make things fly around the room!" Vetil said excitedly. 

Harry saw that this comment was just too much for Ron. His friend drew in a deep breath and absolutely bellowed, "You don't do that until 4th year!"

This rage didn't seem to affect Vetil's happiness. He just smiled in surprise.

"Really? I can already make something fly to me! Watch!"

He turned toward his left and pointed his wand at the ground.

"_Accio rock!"_ Vetil shouted.

A crystal gently flew off the ground and into Vetil's waiting hands. He smiled proudly at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, holding the gem up to his face.

Ron and Hermione gaped at Vetil in shock.

"H-h-how'd y-you do t-that?" Hermione squeaked.

Vetil only smiled. He raised his hand to toss the rock away. 

There was something particular about that rock. Harry saw the strangeness of it and narrowed his eyes, moving forward to see it better.

A beam of light from the sun caught on the rock's surface and it reflected into Harry's eyes.

__

Wait! Is that... he thought.

"Hold on!" Harry shouted, waving his hand at Vetil, but Vetil tossed the crystal into the bushes and looked in bewilderment at Harry.

"What's wrong, Harry?" he asked.

Harry hesitated, still looking at where Vetil had thrown the rock; then at where the rock had come from. Finally, his eyes rested on the small brown-haired boy standing in front of him.

"Is anything the matter?" Vetil questioned again.

"No. I just thought... forget it," Harry ended, feeling stupid.

They walked on, back toward the castle. But Harry could've sworn that the crystal that had coincidentally fallen into Vetil's hands was the same gem in his dreams. He kept glancing back at it, and out of the corner of his eyes, Harry noted that Ron also showed a lot of interest in it.

***

The small girl watched the four students outside of the castle, roaming around on the Hogwart's grounds. When Vetil called upon the rock, she saw that the Potter boy had recognition in it.

__

How is that possible? She thought.

She watched as they made their way back to the castle, and she smiled a bit. This was not a true smile, just a small note of hope.

__

Good. Stay out of harm's way. Evil might be in store for you...

The pale girl once again looked out over the land outside of the school's walls. Her eyes traveled around, then lay on the spot where the gem had fallen.

Something whispered to her.

__

Evil...

__

Yes... she thought quietly. _I sense it_...

The small girl wrapped herself more tightly in her Hogwart's robes. She felt a chill. She closed her eyes.

A voice she recognized as her own rang out into the silence.

__

"Nooo!" 

The past...

Her eyes opened. She looked sadly at the school's floor.

There was a small breeze in the room. The girl's hair gently floated behind her.

__

Andeline...

One would've noticed that no window was open.

***

The following day had passed by quick enough. Harry saw that Ron was actually researching something. It seemed strange to him that Ron would actually be doing homework at a time like this. It was even more suspicious, because they hadn't gotten any homework yet.

"Ron! What _are_ you doing?" Harry asked.

He sighed. "Well, Percy's gotten this crazy assignment, and it actually sounds kind of interesting, so I'm looking up on it."

"If it's crazy, then explain to me how it might be interesting?"

Ron looked at Harry. "Well, it's about the giants. You know about the giants right?"

"No..."

"The ones that were in league with You-Know-Who?"

"Oh! Yeah," Harry said, nodding.

"I think that they actually sent some people to compromise with them, you know? Percy has to write a report for it. I just found that out from mum yesterday, and I decided to read about giants. They could be a good ally against the dark forces."

"Yeah," Harry said, eating his dinner. "So, is Pigwideon back?"

"Yup. Sent the letter, he did," Ron stated, picking at his food.

After they finished their dinner, Harry and Hermione went back to the Common Room. Ron had run off, saying that he needed to get some more books.

"Isn't Ron acting weird?" Hermione said.

Harry shrugged. "Possibly. I've never seen him so into a Ministry report. Especially one that Percy's writing up."

Hermione looked at him for a second, before sticking her nose back into the extremely thick book that she was reading. Harry turned and watched the portrait hole. Finally, a quarter after ten, Ron returned.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully.

Hermione put her book on her lap and looked up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Anything the matter, Hermione?"

"Oh, nothing..." she said slowly, eyeing Ron with suspicion. "How'd you get so happy? Did you get _Vetil_ fever or something?"

"Is it a crime to be happy?" Ron asked.

Hermione sighed and went back to reading her book, muttering, "No, it's not a crime."

Ron smiled. "So what have you been doing?" he asked happily.

"Waiting for you. Where'd you go?" Harry asked.

Ron spun around. He looked at Harry as if it was the first time he had ever seen him. Harry got a bit taken aback by that motion.

"I..." Ron suddenly sounded very serious. "I was at the library," he said in a voice that was a bit unlike his own.

Harry nodded, but stopped abruptly, looking at Ron again.

Their eyes met, and for a second, Harry caught a glimpse of an image.

__

What?

His sight suddenly lurched and Harry gagged.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, looking at him over her book. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Harry replied blinking.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a small flash of red, and for a split moment, his head hurt. It came so fast and left so swiftly that Harry thought he had imagined it.

He must've looked bad because Ron asked, "You sure you're okay?"

"Y-yeah."

"Well," Ron said, looking at the two of his friends, "I am going to bed, alright?"

"Yeah," Hermione murmured while Harry nodded.

Ron sauntered up the stairs to the dormitories.

Harry sat back down on a chair. He looked at Hermione, who was totally absorbed into her book. 

__

Let's see, he thought, _Tomorrow I have Defense Against Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures_...

He gagged again. Harry's vision swam a bit in front of him. He felt really dizzy.

"Harry?" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "Maybe you should go to bed," she said.

"Yeah. I think I will," Harry replied, stumbling a bit while he got up. Hermione didn't notice.

"See you tomorrow. Don't be late, alright?" she said, reading again.

"Yeah, I won't."

Something strange was definitely happening. As Harry walked up the stairs to the dormitories, his vision swam and he stumbled several times. He felt nauseous and had to sustain himself from gagging.

When he got to his bed, he sat down on it slowly. He was hot all over.

__

I'm sick...

His vision parted into two, and then back into one. He closed his eyes and put a hand to his forehead. There was a sharp pain and he saw an image again. It traveled too fast through his mind, so he didn't make out what it was. Harry opened his eyes again. Now his vision had parted into three.

__

Hospital Wing... he thought.

But before Harry could get up to walk the length to Madame Pomfrey's room, he swooned and passed out.

***

The next morning, Ron woke up late. He groaned to himself. Why hadn't Harry woken him up?

Ron quickly got out of bed. He scanned the room sullenly. No one was in it except... Harry.

"Harry!" Ron yelled, frustrated at his friend. "Come on! We're late!"

Harry didn't move. He didn't respond.

Ron muttered and started toward Harry's four-poster bed.

"We're always late," Ron hissed. "Hermione will have a fit!"

He got close to Harry who was turned away from him.

"Harry!" Ron was getting impatient. He shook his friend's shoulder attempting to awaken him. 

Ron groaned again and rolled his eyes. When he looked back down at Harry, he noticed that he was still wearing his robes and the clothes he wore yesterday. 

__

Why'd he forget to change? Ron thought to himself.

He bent over closer and hissed in Harry's ear.

"Wake up!"

Ron began to feel afraid. Why was Harry ignoring him?

"Harry... please..." Ron said tentatively. 

__

Is he..? 

Ron grabbed Harry's wrist and felt for a pulse. 

"Come on... Come on!" he muttered.

At last, he found his friend's weak pulse. Ron drew in his breath quickly and ran out of the room. He hopped down the stairs and hurried to the Great Hall.

Hermione glared as Ron entered. "You're late!" she said angrily. 

"Hermione..." Ron gasped.

"Where's Harry? Why didn't you wake him up?"

"Hemione," Ron raised his voice.

She ignored it. "He's going to be late! He's going to get in trouble..."

"HERMIONE!" Ron shouted.

She recoiled with wide eyes. The rest of the Gryffindors paused and turned to face Ron. 

"Hermione... come on..." Ron whispered.

"Ron?" she asked.

"Hurry! The Gryffindor dormitories!" 

Hermione stayed rooted to the spot. Ron lost his patience and grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of her chair. 

"Ron! We're going to be late for class!" she shouted as he steered her hastily out of the Great Hall. 

"What's going on? Is anything the matter?" Hermione questioned as they ran down a hall.

Ron managed to gasp, "Harry!"

Hermione looked startled but the news got her to speed up. She quickly followed Ron back to the portrait of the fat lady.

"Dipplewink..." Hermione panted.

"What on earth are you-" the fat lady started.

"DIPPLEWINK! Now open up!" Ron practically screamed.

The painting swung open, revealing the entrance to the common room. Ron and Hermione clambered in running straight up the stairs to the boys' dorms. From behind them, they heard Vetil's small voice.

"Wait! Ron!" he shouted. 

They ignored his cries and ran to the dormitory entrance. Ron hurried in but Hermione hesitated.

"Ron... it's..." she started, but made up her mind and quickly followed her friend.

During the time that Ron had been gone, Harry had woken up to an empty room. He stood up on shaky legs right as Ron ran in.

"Huh? Ron?" he said stupidly.

Ron caught Harry right as he stumbled and fell.

"Wha..." Harry murmured.

"Come on, Harry! Hospital wing..." Ron groaned.

"I feel sick..." Harry muttered thickly. 

"That's 'cause you are," Ron stated.

Vetil entered the dormitory right then. He stood by the door for a second; then he walked toward Ron with questioning eyes. 

"Oh! What's wrong with-" he started.

"Move!" Ron growled.

Vetil scurried aside as Ron moved toward the exit pulling Harry along with him.

Hermione abruptly started to ask questions. "Did you eat something bad? Did someone hex you? Did you get cursed? How do you feel? Do you have side pains? Are you nauseous?"

"I..." Harry said.

Ron interrupted. "Hermione! Be quiet!" Ron said. He then added, "Can you help?"

Hermione blinked. "Oh, yeah! Sorry."

She ran to Harry's other side and supported hi there.

"Perhaps we should get a teacher..." Hermione suggested.

"Yeah? Go get one then!" Ron said loudly. 

Hermione fell silent partly because of Ron's bad temper and because they were going up a flight of stairs and dragging Harry along was hard. Harry stumbled every step he took.

At the top of the stairs, Harry fainted again.

"Are we close?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. It's right over there..." 

Suddenly, from behind them Vetil's voice rang out again. 

"You don't have to carry him you know?" Vetil said, coming up from behind them.

"Oh yeah? You do something then!" Ron said through gritted teeth.

Vetil took out his wand and waved it, whispering some words. 

Ron and Hermione abruptly felt Harry's weight disintegrate. 

"What?" Ron started. He looked to his right and let go of Harry. But Harry didn't fall. He was floating about a foot above the ground.

"Y-y-you-" Ron stammered, turning toward Vetil.

"I told you that you didn't have to carry him." Vetil smiled.

He walked forward, flicking his wand up. Harry floated forward also.

Ron and Hermione stared at each other, at Vetil, then back at each other; both with their eyes wide open. 

"H-How'd you do that?" Hermione squeaked.

"Simple," Vetil said and walked toward the Hospital Wing.

***

Harry woke up feeling very dizzy. He blinked and the room came in focus. He realized that it was the Hospital Wing. Harry had been here many times, but why was he here now?

Madame Pomfrey entered. She looked at Harry and exclaimed, "Oh! You're awake!"

"Yeah... Er," Harry paused and looked around at himself. "Why am I here?"

Madame Pomfrey raised an eyebrow at him. "I was hoping that you could explain that to me..." she said. "Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger brought you in this morning. You have been unconscious for about six hours."

Harry sat up quickly and yelled, "I've missed class!"

He tried to get out of the bed but Madame Pomfrey pushed him back.

"I have informed your teachers of your absence," she said.

"But..."

"You are in no condition to go to class."

"I feel fine!" Harry said.

"Really?" Madame Pomfrey asked, looking at him strangely.

Harry nodded his head quickly.

"You don't have a headache, a stomachache, dizziness... anything?" she questioned.

"No!" Harry said firmly. "I feel fine!"

The nurse sighed.

"Well... can I go now?" Harry asked, about to get up from the bed.

"No!" Madame Pomfrey stated. "I have to check that you are really fine! If you have a virus, you'll spread it around the school!"

***

At dinner, Ron and Hermione waited impatiently. They kept glancing around the Great Hall for any signs of their friend. Harry had not showed up for any classes and they hadn't seen him ever since Vetil levitated him to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey had ushered them out and told them to go to class.

Suddenly, Ron heard Hermione squeal, "Harry!"

Ron turned to his left and saw Harry, looking fine, making his way over to the Gryffindor table. He sat down beside Ron and smiled. 

"Are you okay?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. I feel fine," Harry answered while reaching out his hand to get some food.

Ron and Hermione only stared at him.

"You didn't look fine this morning..." Hermione said.

"Well... I don't know what happened. When I woke up in the Hospital Wing, I didn't feel sick."

Ron shrugged. "I guess there's something bad going around..." he said tersely. 

Harry looked at him. "By the way.... What did happen this morning?" he asked his two friends.

So, Hermione and Ron spent about five minutes telling Harry how sick he was.

"...And then Vetil did this spell and you floated all the way to the Hospital Wing," Ron ended.

"Oh," Harry said, looking down the table at where Vetil was sitting. The first year seemed interested in the ceiling because he just sat there gazing at it in awe.

Then, Harry noticed the small girl he saw when they first arrived at Hogwarts. She was seated next to Vetil, and she was looking right at him. Harry shivered involuntarily and turned back to his two friends. 

"Vetil must be really smart," Hermione said. "He's only a first year and he can already levitate people and perform the summoning charm."

"Yeah. Remember that's how Sirius moved Snape when he had been knocked out by our disarming charm?" Harry added.

Ron nodded. "Speaking of Snape... you missed your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class today and you should be glad."

"Snape thought that you were _skipping_ class again and took ten points off of Gryffindor even after we told him that you were at the Hospital Wing." Hermione said.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Snape said, 'he is in charge of coming to class, sick or not'." 

Hermione sighed. "We learned about giants today. Here are some notes for you to copy." She handed him a parchment filled with writing.

Harry looked down at Hermione's small, neat handwriting and he groaned. 

"Why are we learning about giants?" he asked.

"Well... maybe because some of them are on You-Know-Who's side now," Hermione answered.

"Oh, yeah. Isn't Percy doing a report on that?" Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron answered.

"Did you two hear about Azkaban?" Hermione asked.

The two boys shook their heads.

"Oh. Well... it was taken over by You-Know-Who two days ago."

Ron and Harry stared at Hermione. 

"Well," she continued, "He freed his supporters and now the dementors are on his side."

Harry shivered a little, remembering the dementors and their soul-sucking mouths. When they got close to someone, all the happiness around that person would disappear, leaving nothing but horrible thoughts and memories. Harry shook his head to make the thoughts disappear. He didn't want to think about what Voldemort could enable the dementors to do. 

"Harry."

He turned to look at Ron.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We can go back to the Gryffindor Common Room now.'

"Oh. Okay. Let's go," Harry said, getting up.

"And," Hermione added, "you have to finish copying my note."

"I will!" Harry told her. "Don't worry!"

***

Back in the Gryffindor Common Room, Ron and Harry played chess while Hermione continued to read her large book.

"Checkmate!" Ron yelled happily.

"Again, as usual," Harry laughed.

"Yeah. You've lost to me like...what? A million times?"

The two boys laughed again, but they were quickly silenced by Hermione's look that clearly stated, "_Be quiet_!"

Ron set the chessboard up again and said, "Play again?"

"Er," Harry started.

"Can I play?" a voice sounded from behind them. They spun around to see Vetil making his way toward the two of them.

Ron looked at him, then at Harry. Harry nodded and Ron hesitantly said, "Yes," still staring at harry.

Vetil grinned as he came closer to them. He sat down in Harry's spot after Harry got up from his seat. Immediately the pieces started shouting.

"Who's that?" they cried.

"Don't trust him!"

"Does he know how to play chess?"

Harry laughed at the astonished look on Vetil's face and said, "Ignore them. They all hate me because I'm bad at chess."

Vetil smiled and said, "Well, I was good at muggle chess but..."

"Oh! This is just like that," harry assured him.

Vetil's smile widened. "Alright then! I might be okay at it!"

Harry left Ron and Vetil to play their chess game and walked over to Hermione.

"What are you reading?" he asked her.

"Oh!" Hermione looked up. "_The many phases of the moon and their meanings_," she said.

"That's... interesting..." Harry commented.

Hermione smiled. "You and Ron should read more. It really is good for you."

"Yeah. Uh-huh."

"You might want to read this one. They have very interesting descriptions and stories on the moon and the sky," and with that, Hermione stuck her head back in the book. 

"Hermione," Harry hesitated. Did he really want to? "I think that I am going to the library."

Hermione dropped her book. THUD. Ron and Vetil looked up as Hermione screeched, "Whaaat?"

"Er... I'm going to look up a book to read about-"

"Is it for school?" Hermione interrupted.

"No..."

"Are you suddenly interested in the world of literature?" Hermione seemed to be getting excited.

"No. I just need to," Harry paused. How should he say it? "I just need to look up something." 

Hermione blinked. She said, "Fine. I'm going with you."

Ron stared at Harry with a baffled expression as Hermione and he left. 

As they opened the portrait hole, Harry clearly heard Vetil say, "Checkmate."

Ron screamed, "What!"

The sound echoed in the hallway but was quickly cut off when Hermione closed the portrait hole.

They quickly made their way to the library and walked in.

"Harry? What's this about?" Hermione asked. She sounded like she really wanted to know.

"Well, I'm going to look up something about green gems."

Hermione raised her eyebrows in question. "What for?" she asked.

"Well, I've been having these strange dreams where there's this green gem shaped kind of like a skull..."

Hermione drew in her breath. "Harry. I read about green gems a bit. They usually posses dark powers, especially ones that are shaped as dark figures."

"Well, I think that it has something to do with Voldemort 'cause I saw him in one of my dreams. The stone changed into him..." Harry told her.

"Well," Hermione said, looking at the books in the shelves. "I suppose that we could check out these books, but I doubt they'll have anything useful. It's most likely going to be in the restricted section."

Harry shrugged. "Well... there's always my invisibility cloak..."

"Yes, but let's try these books first," Hermione said quickly.

"Okay."

After going through the books about gems and stones, crystals and rocks, they didn't find anything. The two friends made their way back up to Gryffindor Tower with their spirits low. Ron had gone to bed and when Harry said goodnight to Hermione, he made a decision to use his father's old invisibility cloak again.


	4. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

CHAPTER FIVE

THE GREEN GEM

Harry quietly opened his trunk and took out the silvery cloak. For a brief moment, he considered waking Ron, but decided against that. He threw the cloak over himself and went down to the portrait hole. Upon exiting, he saw that the fat lady was gone.

Slowly and silently he made his way down the dark corridors. After a few minutes his vision adjusted to the darkness and he could see more clearly.

When Harry entered the library he muttered, "_Lumos_," so that a light appeared at the end of his wand. 

Harry quickly scanned all the books with his vision, sweeping the wand close to them to read the titles. 

"No. Not rocks. Not jewelry... Hold on! Yes! Here it is!"

He picked up an old book with the title, Gems That Possess Dark Powers.

Slowly and cautiously, Harry opened the book in his hands.

There was a bright flash and Harry was blinded. He dropped his wand and the book as he covered his eyes with his eyes as an instinct. Harry panicked. What if someone came? He kicked out with a foot, attempting to close the book. Finally, his foot connected with the cover and as he kicked upwards, the book snapped shut. The light abruptly faded and he was overwhelmed by darkness once more.

Harry rubbed his eyes and blinked several times before he could see again. He bent down and picked up his wand and the book. Then he quickly threw the invisibility cloak over himself and walked toward the exit.

Suddenly, Harry stopped. He thought that he had heard something from his left. Slowly, Harry turned toward that direction.

__

Nothing…_ I'm paranoid_…

He turned to go again, but for the second time, he heard shuffling. Harry stared into the darkness, squinting his eyes to see farther. He turned and walked in the direction of the noise. As he rounded a corner, he saw light from the hallway seeping into the library. Someone had just left. 

Harry tried to move quickly but silently and by the time he got out of the library, the shuffling was fainting more and more.

Forgetting to be silent, Harry jogged down the corridor. He was aware of his footsteps that thudded softly on the floor, but he did not attempt to quiet them. Harry stopped after rounding a corner. He peered in front of him and saw that the entrance to the school was open. Someone had just left.

Harry hesitated and without thinking, he ran out after the figure. The footsteps of the leaving figure were growing louder as he neared. Immediately after exiting, Harry tripped on a tree branch.

"Ah!" he tried to muffle his shout as he landed on the ground, hard. 

As he tripped, the book flew out of his hands and landed about twenty feet in front of him... twenty feet behind the cloaked figure.

The person hesitated and stopped. That figure turned around slowly, staring at the book. All was silent as no one and nothing moved.

Don't let him see me... Harry prayed silently, keeping very still. 

It felt as if time had stopped and only Harry was able to move... but he kept still. Harry held his breath and looked up at the figure trying to see who it was. Suddenly, the figure moved swiftly in his direction. 

__

Oh, no....

Harry opened his mouth, but the figure stopped by the book. Relief passed over Harry. He was dimly aware of the pounding of his own heart.

The figure stared down at the book silently then hastily bent down and grabbed it. The cloaked person seemed to be looking at the title... then with a nasty voice, it said, "_Destructio_!"

A light from within the book flashed and cracks ran along it. Harry gasped inaudibly as the book burst in flames. The figure dropped it as the crackling flames enveloped the book. Then, as the book fell to ashes that were quickly blown away by the wind, he ran toward the lake. The figure's footsteps died down as he moved away from Harry. After the footsteps had disappeared, only the wind was heard.

Harry, wide eyed, had figured out that the cloaked enigma of a person was a he. The voice sounded oddly familiar... but Harry couldn't place it. 

__

Who is it...? _Why would they be out right now_? 

He quickly scanned the Hogwart's grounds for any sign of the person. All traces were gone.

Harry remained very still for a few minutes. When he was sure that the cloaked figure was not coming, he hastily got up and went back into the castle. Harry ran down the halls, only stopping when he was in the Gryffindor Common Room. He stumbled in and stared around, catching his breath. Everything was normal... everything was okay.... 

Harry slowly took off the invisibility cloak and walked up toward the boys' dormitories. He was aware of the pounding of blood in his ears. As he entered, he thought once more about his encounter with the mysterious figure. He knew that voice... but he couldn't put it with a face.

__

I'll tell Hermione tomorrow.... _Maybe she'll know what happened_....

But Harry knew what had happened. He got into bed but couldn't sleep, tossing and turning. A sickening feeling was in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know who the person was, but he knew why the person had destructed the book.

__

My dreams.... _Perhaps they do mean something_....

And when he finally drifted off into sleep, a thought flowed with him. 

Someone doesn't want us to find out and know....

***

The next day, Harry pulled Hermione aside to tell her what had happened. 

She shook her head. "No one at Hogwarts knows the destructing charm..." she said. 

Harry sighed.

"Well, maybe some of us do..." she said.

"Like you?" Harry asked.

"I did not destruct that book!" Hermione yelled, like that was an outrageous thing to suspect her of doing. "I was in bed... like you were supposed to also!".

"I wasn't accusing you! But if you know it... others might also!" Harry said.

"Then why would someone want to destroy a book and leave Hogwarts in the middle of the night?" Hermione argued.

"I don't know why he was out in the middle of the night... but I know why he destroyed the book!" Harry said.

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" Hermione asked.

"'Cause they didn't want someone to read the book and find out something! I dunno... it's a feeling that I have!"

Hermione groaned. "I still don't see why someone would be out in the middle of the night destroying books about gems."

"Yeah. I know but-"

"Too bad you didn't get the book though...." Hermione said.

Harry nodded, sighing inwardly to himself. He heard Hermione clear her throat.

"Did you look through all the books?" she asked.

"No...."

"Well. We should try to find more," Hermione said.

"But-"

"It's the only way we'll find out what the gem in your dreams are...." Hermione told him.

Harry groaned.

"Why don't I go then," Hermione suddenly suggested.

Harry looked at her.

"What's the difference? As long as you give me the invisibility cloak... I'll get a book." Hermione sounded convinced and firm.

Harry decided not to argue. "Okay. But be careful Hermione...." 

***

At about 9:30 that night, Harry entered the Gryffindor Common Room as Hermione quietly slipped out. They had done this many times before, when individually, they had sneaked out in the dark of the night. 

"Thanks," Hermione whispered to him as she hurried down the corridor.

She went to the library and entered.

Hermione repeated what Harry had done... scanning the books for any that fit the topic she was looking for. Hermione found several books on rocks and jewelry, but she didn't see any on green gems.

After about thirty minutes of searching, Hermione picked out a book titled The Meanings of Green Gems. She saw that it was a thin book with crinkled, old pages.

__

I can probably read this in an hour, she thought to herself.

Hermione sighed and wiped the dust off the cover. She was about to open it... but thought better of that and decided to show Harry first. 

Quietly, but in triumph, Hermione made her way out of the library and back to the portrait of the fat lady. 

"Dipplewink," Hermione said softly.

The fat lady was half asleep, muttering, "Yes. Yes...." 

The portrait hole opened and Hermione stepped in. She looked around and saw Harry asleep with his head on a table. He had been waiting for Hermione to return from the library.

"Harry!" Hermione said quickly. She slipped off the invisibility cloak and walked up to her sleeping friend. "Wake up! Harry!" She shook his shoulders.

"Time for school?" Harry muttered sleepily.

"Harry! Come on!" Hermione said.

"Huh?" There was a pause and Harry's eyes snapped open. "Hermione! You're back!"

"Yeah... and look at what I found."

She held the book out toward Harry. He stared at it and took it from her hands.

"Hmm.... _The Meanings of Green Gems_...." He looked up at Hermione. "That'll probably help," he said.

"Hopefully," Hermione sighed. "I don't want to sneak out again and break rules..."

"You suggested that you would go!" Harry cut in. 

"I know..." 

"So don't blame me," Harry said.

"I wasn't! But if this doesn't tell us anything... you have to sneak out! Not me!"

Harry groaned. "Ron, you, and I used to sneak out all the time..." he muttered.

"...And we got in trouble a lot too!" Hermione said.

"Did not!"

"Remember our first year?" Hermione argued.

"Well... besides that..."

Hermione smiled. "Let's drop that subject. Here. Give me the book."

Harry passed the crinkled book back to Hermione who took it in her hands gingerly. She paused a little. Then with slow hands, she opened the book.

WHOOSH.

"What?" Hermione cried. She dropped the book.

A gust of wind flew harshly into the room and swirled around the two of them. There was a hissing sound and Harry opened his eyes a little to see what was causing it.

A trail of smoke swirled together in circles, joining into a shape.

__

What...? _A skull_....

The wisp of smoke swirled again and parted. It slowly glowed green and combined into a perfect copy of the gem in Harry's dream.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled. She looked up and saw the figure.

"The gem?"

Harry nodded but he wasn't sure if Hermione saw him.

All the while, the wind blew on relentlessly. Harry stumbled forward toward the book. He stretched out a hand and was about to close it...

...And it stopped. The wind died down as drastically as it had started while the smoke vanished. The only traces left were Hermione and Harry, looking like they had just walked in from a dust storm. 

Hermione slowly made her way to Harry's side and peered down at the book. She narrowed her eyes.

"Look here," Harry said.

Hermione looked down at the faint, barely recognizable words while straightening her hair. She squinted her eyes more and made out the words. 

Green gems are usually a sign of evil. If worn or even touched, the jewel may posses its holder, making them perform Dark magic that they would not be able to originally. Most often, the gem can only be controlled by its maker. But when the maker passes on, he/she may bestow the power upon someone else... even in the far future. 

Harry said sarcastically, "That's nice..." 

Hermione shrugged and flipped the pages, scanning for anything interesting. "Hey! Read this!"

The most well known Green Gem was owned by none other than Salazar Slytherin. It is said that the founder of Slytherin house left the skull shaped gem in the so-called Chamber of Secrets, in the mouth of a statue. 

Harry gasped. "I know what statue they're talking about!" he said.

"Really?" Hermione asked.

"Yes! Tom Riddle opened the statue mouth and the Basilisk came out from there..." Harry let his last words trail off. 

Hermione was looking at him in awe. Her eyes suddenly sparked with sly excitement. "What if..." she said.

Harry looked at her, "No! Hermione! Definitely not! If Voldemort got the gem..."

"It's possible that he didn't Harry!" Hermione squealed. 

It suddenly clicked in Harry's mind at what she was directing at. "No..." he said.

"Come on! I've never read that You-Know-Who had a gem that possessed people! The gem may still be in Hogwarts!"

"No..." was all Harry could think to say.

"...And... it still might be in the Chamber of Secrets..."

"Hermione! No!"

"You're the Parselmouth..." she said.

"But last time I was down there..."

"The Basilisk is dead!" Hermione said.

"But..." 

"Don't argue Harry!" Hermione sounded affirmed.

"I don't want to go back to the Chamber of Secrets!" Harry told her.

"Come on! You are the Parselmouth! We have to see..."

"Hermione!"

"Harry! I would go..."

"But you don't want to!" Harry said, not sounding too happy.

"It's not that..."

"Yes it is!" 

"No it..." Hermione sighed. "Fine! Yes it is..." 

***

They kept the book for about a week before Harry snuck it back into the library. After arguing, they agreed that Harry would go to the Chamber of Secrets on Saturday night. Hermione had said, "...Because there is no school the next day." 

As the days went by, Hermione kept on reminding Harry, "Remember to check _everything_!"

"Yes, Hermione. That's the eighth time you've told me today!" Harry said. "Plus, I'm not going until _Saturday_! That's _four days_ away!"

"Four days is a short time!"

"M-hmm...." Harry said sarcastically.

"It's for your own good that I'm reminding you," Hermione said to him.

When they told Ron about the dreams, the gem, the mysterious figure, and the book... he didn't show much interest in it. 

"Why would a green gem mean anything? Seriously! Harry might be having nightmares that are connected to his childhood," he had said.

Hermione and Harry gaped at him. "...And when did you become interested in psychology?" Hermione had asked.

"I'm not. It's common sense!"

Hermione had rolled her eyes and turned away, muttering, "...And when did you get common sense?"

Ron didn't seem to care. Actually, Ron didn't seem to care about much anymore. Suspiciously, he had stopped talking as much at dinner and break. Instead, he sat there and listened to everyone else.

Hermione had told Harry, "Do you think that Ron is mad at us?"

"No...."

"Then why doesn't he- I dunno- talk so much anymore?"

Harry shrugged. "Perhaps it's a phase that he's going through."

Hermione had sighed.

Harry looked around the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione was standing by Ron, talking to him.

"Do you want to play chess?" Hermione asked.

"No. That's okay."

Hermione sighed and walked back toward Harry. She sat down on a chair.

"I don't know why he doesn't want to play chess. He usually likes to play chess against me."

Harry laughed. "That's 'cause chess is the only thing you're bad at!"

She turned a shade pink and said, "I'm not that good in everything else."

"Yes you are."

"Don't be modest. You're a good wizard!" Hermione said.

"No! I'm not even that great in schoolwork!"

Hermione sighed. "That doesn't matter, Harry."

***

Hermione rushed in the halls. She needed to get to dinner.

"I need to get my book," she had told Harry and Ron before running off to the Gryffindor Dormitories. She had grabbed her thick book and run back out.

Hermione walked around a corner, not really watching where she was going. She stopped just in time from walking into a small, blonde girl.

"Oh! Sorry," Hermione said.

The girl merely stared at her. Hermione looked at the girl.

__

She must be a first year... Hermione thought. 

"Are you lost?" she asked.

The girl shook her head.

"Oh. Well... we're all at the Great Hall right now. It's dinner time."

The girl had replied, "You aren't."

Hermione smiled warily. "Yeah. I needed to get something. Come on."

The blonde haired girl followed Hermione as she led the way to the Great Hall. 

"Are you a first year?" Hermione asked.

The girl nodded. "I know that you are a 6th year..." she said.

Hermione noticed the dull tone that the small girl talked in. She wondered if the girl was a Slytherin.

As if the girl could read minds, she said, "I'm a Gryffindor. You are also."

"Yeah.... So, what's your name?"

They arrived at the Great Hall. The girl stopped by the entrance.

"My name is Andeline."

*** 

Vetil was still following them around and all he ever talked about was school. Vetil had been very excited ever since he got a 105% on a charms test.

"I didn't think I was going to do well, but I did!"

"Yeah, Vetil," Hermione said as an instinct.

They were at dinner. Ron had left early. He said that he was tired. Harry stared at the exit of the Great Hall, then back at Hermione, who was talking to Parvati Patil. 

He was wondering if Ron was okay.

He looked around the Great Hall. All the students were chatting merrily. 

The voice of the cloaked figure that destroyed the book rang out into Harry's head. "_Destructio_!" Could one of the students sitting in the Great Hall have done it? 

Harry lost his appetite. Instead, he decided to go back to the Gryffindor Dormitories.

"Hermione."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going back now... alright?"

"But-"

Harry looked at her.

"Oh, fine. Remember to do your homework," Hermione said.

Harry hurried out of the Great Hall. He made his way to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Blemish," he said. The password had changed that morning.

The picture swung open and Harry went inside.

Ron wasn't in the Common Room. Harry looked around and went up the stairs to the 6th year dorms. 

When he got to the door, he heard Ron muttering inside. The words were too faint to make out. Harry narrowed his eyes and moved closer to the entrance.

"...open...cave..." Ron seemed to be saying.

Harry slowly pushed open the door and looked at Ron who stared back.

Author's note: Sorry it took so long. I've had homework and my disk that I store all the stories in broke! I apologize again. A big thank you to all who have reviewed the story.


	5. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

Author's note: This is not my favorite chapter. It's messed up in my words.... Well, I know that many of you will not agree David and I on this, and that's alright. It's actually for a future story that one of my other friends is writing. We have a foursome kind of. One of us is writing 5th year story... David and I are writing 6th –7th and the other is writing a future one. Weird, right? Okay.... I am writing too much. Sorry! Thank you to all whom has reviewed this story so far. 

CHAPTER SIX

THE PREMONITION

Ron hurried to put something under the covers of his bed. He held a book shut and looked up at Harry asking, "Why aren't you at dinner?"

Harry entered the dorm. "Why aren't _you_?" he asked back.

Ron sighed. "I was full...."

"Somehow," Harry said, "I don't think that is right...."

Ron stayed silent, still looking at Harry. 

"I was just coming to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine," Ron said.

"Then why are you ignoring Hermione and me?"

"I'm not ignoring you!" Ron argued. "I've been...busy."

Ron paused. Harry glanced at his hand, which was hiding something under the bed covers. "What's that?" he asked.

"N-nothing."

"Come on, Ron! Now you're lying to us?"

"I'm not lying! I... oh, fine! Promise you won't tell a soul?"

"Tell what?" Harry asked warily.

"Promise!" Ron said.

"Okay. I promise not to tell whatever it is."

Ron, with his face a little red, pulled the item from within its secrecy and showed Harry. 

"It's a..." Ron said, "...a picture of..."

Harry gaped at Ron. "Parvati?" he nearly yelled.

"Harry!"

"Okay! It's just a... a shock," Harry ended.

Ron's ears turned extremely red. "I dunno what's come over me..." Ron said sourly. "I just...." he stopped.

"Where did you get a picture of her?" Harry asked.

"I-I.... Colin...."

Harry didn't know what to say. Ron started to laugh.

"Really! I did! You know Colin right? Colin Creevy?"

Harry nodded.

"Well... he takes pictures of everything...."

"I know," Harry said.

"...And he just happened to take one of her...."

"Really."

"Well... after I kind of... asked him to?" Ron croaked.

Now Harry laughed.

Ron turned even redder than he already was. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing!"

Ron put his book on the bed and covered his face with his hands, but Harry could see him smiling. 

"You really asked Colin to take a picture of her?"

"Yeah," Ron chuckled.

The two boys went into a fit of embarrassed laughs. Finally, after they stopped laughing, and Ron was back to his normal color, Harry said, "So, you don't want me to tell?"

Ron shook his head vigorously. "No!" he said, turning a bit red again. "Definitely not! Don't even tell Hermione!"

"Okay! I won't!"

Ron sighed. "I'm so happy that is out of my system," he said. "I've kept it secret for awhile now. It's good I told you." 

"Yeah," Harry said. "Is that all?" he added.

"Yes.... Why?"

"You seem," Harry said, "a little... preoccupied."

Ron shrugged. 

Harry decided to fill Ron in on what he and Hermione had found out about the gem.

"...And it's supposingly still in the Chamber of Secrets."

Ron looked at Harry uncertainly. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "Do you think that it is there?" he asked.

"No. Not really. You know the stone that Vetil summoned?"

Ron nodded.

"I think that it was the gem...."

"Oh," Ron said.

Harry sighed. "You don't believe me," he said.

"Well... it's weird, you know? A gem that Salazar Slytherin put in the Chamber of Secrets- I dunno how long ago- is appearing in your dreams? Why would it?" 

Harry said, "I don't know either."

"Does it have anything to do with You-Know-Who?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head, but stopped. "I don't know. I am clueless when it comes to this," he said.

Ron shrugged. "I don't know why... but I don't think that the gem would still be in the Chamber of Secrets anymore... if there is even a gem...."

Harry sighed.

__

My best friend doesn't believe me while my other best friend is too enthusiastic about it....

Ron shook his head. "I have never heard Dad or anyone in my family talking about a gem. Perhaps it does exist.... You'll have to find out."

"So... you don't know anything about it?" Harry asked.

"No," Ron said. He looked at his watch. "Gosh. We'd better get to bed! We have class tomorrow!"

Harry nodded. He quickly changed and said goodnight to Ron. 

Then he lay in bed, not able to fall asleep. Ron was right. Why would a gem appear to him in his dreams? He couldn't think of any connections that it had to his life or anyone he knew. 

__

Maybe it is just a dream...

But as Harry tossed and turned in bed, finally managing to sleep, questions plagued his mind. 

***

Their first class on Friday was Defense Against Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws. The three friends dragged themselves to the class, groaning about how their day was about to be ruined on the case of the Potions master. 

Professor Snape paced around, giving evil glares at the working students. He gave harry the look of utter detest, and Harry knew that the look was reserved just for him. Occasionally, the professor would say, "Five points off of Ravenclaw!" because some unfortunate boy had stopped writing for a few seconds to stretch his hand.

They were continuing to study giants.

"Their weakness is their foreheads," Snape said. "What do you do to defend yourselves against an attacking giant? POTTER!"

Harry nearly jumped. He looked up and said, "Er, I wasn't here last time...."

"Yes," Professor Snape sneered. "Skipping class again I suppose?"

"No-"

But Snape had turned to his next victim. "Longbottom!" he shouted. "Answer the question!"

Neville shrunk in his chair giving a small whimper. He stammered, "Um... I forgot," in a small voice.

Professor Snape looked ready to kill. "THIRTY points off Gryffindor! Because Longbottom and Potter do not care enough about their education to listen!" 

Neville shrunk in his seat even farther, trying to hide himself, but Harry almost yelled out in anger. He caught himself seconds before losing any more points for him house. Gritting his teeth, Harry stared down at his notes.

Hermione looked warily at him, but turned quickly back in fear that Snape would deduct more points from Gryffindor.

"As I was saying... the weakness on a giant is their foreheads. There is a charm in which you can disorient an attacking giant. What is it?"

Only Hermione raised her hand, slower than usual. No one else moved.

"Silton!"

A Ravenclaw girl stuttered as she tried to remember the answer. She quickly flipped through her notes, but Snape had already said, "Ten points off of Ravenclaw!"

Hermione's hand stayed in the air but Snape ignored it. Instead, he stared around the room and sneered, "Weasley. Do you know?"

Ron said very calmly, "_Estentellape_...." He looked dully at the shocked look on Snape's face. The rest of the class gasped.

Snape narrowed his eyes suspiciously but apparently, he couldn't find a reason to take points off, so he turned away from Ron in disgust, continuing the lesson. "Yes," he scowled. "That is the charm. The attacking giant will not be able to attack anymore. Now... that's to defend you... but how do you _kill_ one?" 

Snape loomed over the students. But instead of calling on someone, he answered it himself.

"Only aurors used to be able to kill giants, but under the circumstances," he paused, "we are going to learn how ourselves... for your own good.'

The rest of class time was spent in copying notes while the professor took off more points.

After Defense Against Dark Arts, they had Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid seemed very happy about something.

"This year, we'll be able ter raise Hippogriffs!" 

Harry heard Draco snicker. In their third year, a hippogriff had torn up Malfoy's arm. There had been a trial, and the hippogriff had almost been executed.

Hagrid hastily showed the class some hippogriff eggs that he had gotten over the summer. He explained about how to care for them and what to do before the newborns hatched.

"Today, we're gonna make nests for 'em. Here's how yeh do it."

After a complicated lesson, the class got into a group of four and made nests large enough to contain three eggs.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were in a group together. The four of them gathered up the needed materials while hearing Draco complain loudly about getting dirty.

Ron muttered, "He's already dirty! What's he talking about?"

Luckily, Malfoy did not hear the snide comment and havoc was not aroused. 

Harry grabbed a few strands of grass. "Er... what do we do with these?" he asked.

"Here!" Hermione said. "Look. We do this...."

She took the mud and explained rapidly what to do. The three boys nodded their heads as if they understood, but after her long explanation, they were still clueless. 

At the end of the class, all the students were covered in mud and they went to change before lunch.

"Urg!" Ron groaned. "I think that I have mud in my hair!"

Harry was cleaning his glasses and Hermione wiped her hands. Ron dug his fingers in his hair and tried to get the mud off his head. After vigorously scratching, all he managed to do was made it stick up all over the place. 

Hermione giggled as they walked to the Great hall. Ron muttered, "I'm going to take a shower tonight...." while flattening his hair as best he could. 

It was already full as they entered and took their seats among the other Gryffindors. 

Vetil hurried to them. "Hello," he said excitedly.

"Hi," they grumbled in unison.

"Guess what?" he asked happily.

"What?" they groaned, not particularly interested in what Vetil was so interested about.

"We get to learn how to fly on brooms today!" 

"Good for you," Ron said sarcastically.

Vetil didn't notice, or he chose to ignore the comment.

"Oh! Is it hard?"

"Not really," Harry said, glancing around the Great Hall.

Vetil sparked up. "Well, that's because you're a really great flier! You're the youngest seeker since about a century ago!"

"Well, it's not that hard... really. Ask Ron."

Ron glared at Harry as if to say, "You're turning the nuisance my way?"

Harry smiled to himself.

But before Vetil could go on and aggravate Ron, a Slytherin boy walked over. He stopped by the four of them and sneered, "Hey mudblood! Bet you can't fly!"

Vetil shrugged. "I don't particularly care, Testle." Vetil was still very happy.

The Slytherin first year smirked and walked away, leaving Vetil even happier than he was before. Harry looked at the leaving brown haired boy as Hermione asked, "Why do you let them insult you?"

"Oh... I don't mind. Really."

Hermione then asked, "What's his name?"

"Lamar Testle."

"Oh."

The Slytherin first years all turned and stared towards Vetil and the other three. They sneered and glared. Then they turned back with their noses in the air as if they were proud.

"Why do they hate you so much?" Harry asked.

Vetil smiled. "Oh, I don't think that they _really_ hate me. They just have to because I'm a Gryffindor." 

***

Divination was after lunch and Hermione shouted, "See you later!" before running off.

Ron and Harry made their way slowly to North Tower. They walked up the steps reluctantly and entered the classroom. The familiar heat from the fire greeted them.

Ron moaned, "We'll be scorched in here!"

They took their seats near the back as Parvati and Lavender entered. As usual, the girls sat near the front of the class.

Professor Trelawney appeared after all the students had streamed in. She stared around the class mysteriously through her large glasses, her eyes resting on Harry longer than the other students.

In the past years the professor had always predicted Harry's death, and it was getting annoying to see her stare solemnly at him every time they came to class.

She turned away from him and began speaking in her soft voice. "This year, we will be learning to _see _when we close our eyes. This is very difficult, but not for the true seer. They will find it rather natural...."

Lavender and Parvati fidgeted excitedly. 

The professor continued. "Today, we will practice clearing our minds before taking the next steps into enlarging our knowledge of the future...."

Ron rolled his eyes.

The professor explained what they must do and the class was instructed to follow. 

Harry reluctantly closed his eyes, feeling like a fool while he tried to "clear" his mind. All he saw was the darkness behind his eyelids.

He moved a bit. The class was very quiet. Not a sound seemed to be made from within the Tower walls.

Occasionally, Harry would sneak a peek, no longer able to keep his eyes shut. Once, he had caught Ron who was also taking a break from the boring lesson. Ron had winked before shutting his eyes again. 

Harry tried not to laugh, and closed his own eyes. He sat in silence for awhile, telling himself not to open his eyes. He had finally managed to clear most of his mind when suddenly, another thought entered it.

__

What if the gem is there? What should I do if it does happen to be in the statue's mouth?

The book had said that the gem possessed people and if Harry touched it... wouldn't it take over him? 

He drew in his breath. He was going back to the Chamber of Secrets the next day, but was he ready? He still had a lot of questions and silently noted himself to ask Hermione what to do if the gem was there.

He moved uncomfortably as another thought joined the others.

__

What if there's another Basilisk?

Harry shook his head. There couldn't be another one.

He sighed, just as another sound filled the room.

A hiss escaped Professor Trelawney's mouth. She was speaking softly and Harry couldn't make out the words. 

He opened his eyes warily and saw the rest of the class doing the same. 

The professor continued to whisper. Her voice grew a fraction louder and Harry made out the words, "_Something terrible is going to occur_._ So terrible_...."

The students all looked at the professor. Her mouth was moving slowly and her eyes were rolled up into her head. She was very still.

Something like this had happened before. It had fallen upon Harry in his third year. He remembered it clearly. The professor was making a real prediction....

In one swift movement she grasped the table and stood up. The students gasped as her voice rang out into the silent classroom.

"_Something will happen very soon! If it is not prevented, then the Hogwart's walls will fall!"_

The students watched and listened, wide-eyed.

__

"The school will be destroyed! Darkness has fallen upon us without our noticing!"

Her voice echoed strangely, chilling their bones. Harry felt a shiver run up his spine.

Silence once again fell upon the classroom. Then, very softly, she said, "_When the terrible tragedy occurs_..._ evil will prevail_...." Her voice was no more than a whisper, a hiss. It sounded more like the lightest breeze htan the professor speaking. 

The class stared at her, frightened as she said something too soft to make out. They held their breath even after her lips had stopped moving. Finally after a minute or two (it seemed like forever to the students), the professor sank back in her chair. Her eyes rolled down and she blinked, staring at the class. "Why are your eyes open? Go on! Close them! Clear your mind!"

They watched her silently.

"But professor-" Parvati spoke up quietly.

"Yes, dear?"

"You were saying something about a terrible occurance.... You said that evil would conquer...."

The professor replied, "Nonsense child."

"But-" Lavender started.

"I said no such thing." That was stated in a final sort of way and the class did not press for more answers.

No one talked for the rest of the period. Everyone fiddled with their hands or moved their feet nervously, but nothing else happened. When they resumed "clearing" their minds, Harry couldn't concentrate, and he knew that the others couldn't either. 

As they quietly left the room when the bell rang, harry remembered the last time Professor Trelawney had made a real prediction. It had come true. He thought silently to himself:

__

What about this time?


	6. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

Author's note: I changed the summary, I know. Well, it's more descriptive now... don't you think? Thank you to all of you that have reviewed the story so far!

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE SECRET TUNNEL

It seemed that Professor Trelawney's prediction had to do with the green gem. It just felt that way. Now, instead of dreading Saturday, Harry wished that it would arrive sooner. 

Ron and he walked out of the classroom a little dazed, but Ron seemed to recover after awhile.

"Do you think that she was lying? You know how Hermione always says things about divination being impractical and all? That's probably what happened today," he told Harry.

Harry nodded, but he didn't really believe Ron's words, just like he didn't believe his own.

Harry and Ron confronted Hermione the first time they could.

"I mean... what if she's not telling the truth? Professor McGonagall always said that-"

"-That divination is a very imprecise branch of magic," Harry groaned. "Really!" he added. "She went into a trance just like three years ago! Her eyes were rolled back and all!"

"But-"

"Hermione! Even Dumbledore said that she was having a real prediction back in our third year! It was exactly the same!"

"Well, Harry," Ron cut in, "Hermione and I weren't there, back in third year...."

"It was exactly the same!" Harry said, turning to Ron. "Don't you remember what she did today?"

"Of course. How could I forget?"

"You see?"

Hermione sighed. "Well then, Harry. How can we prevent it-the thing that's supposed to happen?"

He looked at her, not sure what to say.

"We can't let evil prevail," she continued, "so how do we stop it? Did the professor say how?"

"No-"

"Well, then. There's nothing that we can do. We just have to wait."

"Hermione's right," Ron said. "We can't do anything right now."

Harry sighed. "Fine, but I just feel that something's not right."

Hermione and Ron nodded. 

"Nothing to do," Ron muttered. 

But Harry's inner conscience told him otherwise.

***

Saturday seemed very long to Harry. He couldn't seem to concentrate on anything, especially homework.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed. "Haven't you done anything on your Charms essay?"

Harry nearly jumped at the sound of her voice. 

"No," he said. "I mean, yeah. Hold on, no."

Harry looked solemnly at his parchment that only had one sentence written on it, feeling very stupid. 

Hermione sighed. "I guess not."

At dinner, the three friends listened to Vetil, barely tolerating his repeated stories on how great flying was. Ron had snickered when Vetil told them that he had fallen off three times.

"When I fell, I knew how to slow down the process of the gravitational pull, so I floated safely to the ground and never got hurt!" Vetil said proudly.

Harry nodded. "Uh-huh."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione ate their dinner quickly, trying to hurry back to the Common Room and leave Vetil's unstoppable tellings behind. Ron and Harry left the Great Hall without even finishing their food. 

Back in Gryffindor Tower, they settled down on the chairs in relief. Hermione started to read her extremely large book again. She was almost halfway through it.

Around 10:00pm, they started to discuss the topic of the green gem again. 

"Why are you even receiving these dreams?" Ron asked.

"I dunno," Harry said.

Hermione sat in the silence that followed Harry's answer. She pondered the thought that Harry had received Voldemort's knowledge about Slytherin's like he had gotten the Dark Lord's power to speak to snakes. She was about to speak about this topic when the portrait door opened.

The headmaster came in.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were shocked that Dumbledore had come to Gryffindor Common Room. The professor merely smiled.

"Ron? Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Ron, with questioning eyes, got up and followed the headmaster out, turning around briefly to shrug at Harry and Hermione.

"What's wrong? Is Ron in trouble?" Hermione asked, suspicious. 

Harry shrugged. "I can't see why Dumbledore would need to talk to him...."

Hermione sighed. She looked down at her book once more.

Harry moved uncomfortably in his chair, anticipating the return of his friend. After ten minutes, Harry remembered his questions from yesterday at divination. In the light of what had happened, he had forgotten them.

"Hermione?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she said, not looking up from her book.

"I, um... have a few questions."

There was a subtle pause.

"Like...?" Hermione questioned.

"Yesterday at divination, I thought of what would happen if I, er," Harry said, "found the gem."

Hermione closed her book and looked up at him.

"I, er," Harry continued, "wondered what I should do if I did happen to find it. The book said that it could possess people, so if I touch it... wouldn't it take me over?"

Hermione drew in her breath with her eyes narrowed slightly. "Go to Dumbledore," she said.

"Huh?"

"If you find the gem, go to Dumbledore. We can't risk you getting possessed by it, and I guess the headmaster may have an idea of what to do with it."

"Yeah, I suppose."

Just then, the portrait hole swung open. Ron came in.

"Hi," he said.

Hermione turned to him.

"Where have you been? He said a moment. Not thirty minutes!" she said.

"Twenty-six," Ron corrected, looking down at his watch.

"Oh! Big difference!" Hermione said in an exasperated tone.

"Well, all we did was go outside by the lake. He asked me if there was anything wrong."

Harry sat up. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Ron threw up his hands. "You tell me."

"So, that's it?" Hermione pushed.

"Yes," Ron assured her. "Then, I came back."

Hermione sat back in her chair. "It doesn't seem like that would take twenty-six minutes."

Ron shrugged, at the same time, yawning. 

"Are you two tired?" he asked.

Harry started to nod, but stopped. He felt tired, but he couldn't be. There was a long night ahead of him.

Hermione shook her head. "No. If _you're_ tired, you should go to bed."

Ron nodded. "I think I will."

He left, saying a brief goodnight to his two friends.

Harry rubbed his eyes and blinked several times. He stifled a yawn.

"Harry," Hermione said softly.

Harry sighed. He knew what was coming, and all of a sudden, he felt more tense than sleepy.

"It's time," Hermione said.

Harry nodded, feeling the tenseness grow, like it was squeezing around the pit of his stomach.

Harry solemnly took out the invisibility cloak from his pocket. He had put it there that morning to keep in handy.

"Now," Hermione whispered, "remember to check _everything_! Absolutely _everything_! And go straight to Dumbledore if you find _anything_."

She gave Harry a reassuring smile.

He nodded. "I know." Then, he paused. "Shouldn't we tell Ron about me going to the Chamber of Secrets?"

"We didn't yet?" Hermione asked, digging through her memory. "I guess we didn't...."

Harry got up.

"Well, since he went to bed, I guess I can tell him tomorrow...." Hermione said. 

Harry nodded. "Okay." 

Then, he started toward the exit.

"Don't be back too late!" Hermione said. 

"Yes, I know."

He opened the portrait hole and spread the invisibility cloak out before himself. 

"...And Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Hmm?" he turned toward her.

"Be careful...."

***

Andeline was seated where she was the last time she had looked out on Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Vetil. She pulled her cloak around her and stared at the dark night, lit only by the stars, for it was a new moon. 

Andeline dreaded the new moon. It was a time of darkness and shadows. It was a time of secrets from beyond the comprehension of one. It was a time when evil arose from within, and the brightness of the moon would not drive them away. It was a time of vulnerability, for the eyesight was limited, and protection was scarce....

Suddenly, Andeline sat up. She leaned closer to the window and squinted outside. Something had moved from within the darkness of the Forbidden Forest. It had been a subtle movement, but Andeline had seen it.

She shivered, peering into the darkness. It seemed to draw her to it. It seemed to compress her with a tightening sensation of fear....

__

Darkness....

Something whispered softly to her, and she turned around, looking for the source. 

__

Darkness brings evil...._ Evil destroys hope_....

Andeline drew in her breath and stared out into the blackness of the Forbidden Forest once more. She didn't see anything. It must have gone away.

__

The Darkness will never leave....

***

The gem pulsed restlessly, but it soon subsided. Its energy had faded slightly, because a lot of it had been used. For the first night in many, the gem had sensed its common evil around itself, but the evil had left before it could be located.

But, it didn't matter. Tonight, something had happened: something that would help the darkness conquer. The light was nothing right now... for the light had diminished like the gem's power, but unlike the gem, it would stay like that.

In a way, evil had a mind of its own, for it pushed away the light, hiding it in secret, for if the light was never found, then nothing would stand against the power of darkness....

***

Harry moved slowly down the dark halls towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He watched for signs of anyone watching before slipping through the entrance of the girls' bathroom.

Harry sighed. He took off the cloak and looked around the room warily.

"Myrtle?" he asked uncertainly.

Apparently, the ghost of the girl who died 50 years ago was not around. It was for the best. She would only slow Harry down if she were here. 

He looked around before folding the invisibility cloak and putting it into his pocket. Harry took out his wand and walked toward the sinks.

A small snake was etched on one of the taps and Harry quickly found it. 

He stared intently at the carving and said, "Open up."

It was in English.

Harry groaned. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated harder on the snake, making it look alive in his mind.

"Open up...." he hissed in parseltounge.

There was a low rumbling as the sink sank down below view and a hole appeared. Blackness filled up the pipe, and to Harry, it seemed as like it would swallow him whole when he stepped in.

Harry hesitated a little, hoping that no one would come, then he got in and slid down into the darkness.

The trip down was the same as it had been when he was in his 2nd year. The wind rushed onto his face as he slid down the pipe and on his sides, he spotted other pipes branching off. 

Reaching the bottom, Harry got up and raised his wand. 

He muttered, "_Lumos_." 

A light flashed up from the point on his wand and lighted his way. He craned his neck and looked in all directions. The light seemed dim but it illuminated parts of the damp wall around him. 

Harry started to walk very slowly. He held his wand over his head so that he could see farther ahead of himself.

He knew that soon, he would arrive at the cave-in. 

As an answer, the rocks appeared just into his range of vision: the shapes growing more clear as he got closer. When he was right by them, he searched for the opening that led nearer to the entrance of the chamber. He walked along the rumble, and soon found the hole.

Harry squeezed through it and looked around. The basilisk skin was still there, as it had been about 4 years ago.

Harry eyed it, but quickly moved down the tunnel. He knew that it would be a few minutes walk. 

The tunnel curved around a few times, but it finally led to the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

The snakes were still there, their eyes gleaming in the light of Harry's wand. It seemed that they were taunting him, teasing him along his way....

"Open," Harry hissed in parseltounge, looking into the eyes of the serpents. 

The wall parted, and Harry, remembering this part, walked in.

Upon entering, a small stench filled his nostrils. It was a decaying sort of smell....

Harry recoiled a bit, but made his way down into the heart of the dimly lit chamber. 

The columns were still there, in their secretive style. The snakes that decorated them still seemed to watch Harry as he made his way closer to the statue of the basilisk. He stared warily around, hoping that there weren't any more basilisks around....

Then, the statue was looming overhead. Harry neared it, recalling its long beard that almost fell to the floor. As he came closer, he looked to the side, spotting the basilisk that he had killed. He turned away quickly, sure that the corpse caused the stench.

Harry craned his neck and stared up at the statue of Salazar Slytherin. It didn't look anything different from when he had last seen it. He remembered the statue's mouth would open if told to, but how would he get inside?

Suddenly, Harry spun around. His eyes darted left and right, up and down. He had heard something stir.... 

He quickly turned back to the statue. The faster he went to check if the gem was still there (which he thought was unlikely), the faster he could leave.

Now... what did he say?

"Open?" Harry said, sounding small. The word came out as a question more than an instruction.

He groaned. 

__

What did Tom Riddle say last time? he wondered.

Harry sought back to the night during his 2nd year.

__

Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four....

That was it.

"Er," Harry started, "speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four...."

Nothing happened. He had spoken English.

It was almost impossible for Harry to speak parseltounge without a real snake or a picture/image of one. 

Harry narrowed his eyes at the statue, attempting to trick his mind into thinking it was a snake.

"Open?"

Harry groaned.

He muttered the phrase a few times, then said, "Open, open, open," several times.

It didn't work. The statue definitely didn't look like a serpent. 

Harry wondered what Hermione would say if he went back with no news.

__

She'd probably make me come back or come herself.... he thought to himself, laughing inwardly.

__

No._ Better to get this over with_.... he told himself.

Muttering, "Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four," again, a small glitter caught his eye.

Harry looked for the source, turning his head this way and that. He then waved his wand slowly over his head, and the sparkle shone again, for the briefest second.

Harry hurried over to the spot where it was located: the statue's feet. As he neared the spot where Ginny had once lain, he saw that the glimmer came from yet another small jewel, much like that of the two serpents at the entrance. The jewel was the eye of a small snake, carved onto the base of the statue; the gem was blue.

Harry wondered how he had missed it before, eyeing it with intrest. Then, a thought crept into his head.

__

Where a snake is, a passageway is usually there also....

He stared intently at the serpent and said, "Open," only this time, in parseltounge.

Instead of the usual rumbling, a hole simply appeared where a large portion of the statue had disappeared.

Harry stared, perplexed, at the staircase that had magically appeared in front of his in less than a second.

He hesitated briefly, then walked forward. He ducked into the hole and entered a small room that housed the staircase. He looked up in awe, seeing the stairs leading into darkness.

Harry kept his wand over his head as he made his way slowly and cautiously up the stairs. It felt as if he were walking on endlessly. Every step he took, another would appear, ten feet in front of him. 

Finally, he reached the top. The staircase opened into a gigantic room. The ceiling was about a foot taller that Harry, but he could see that it sloped up into the darkness.

Only the light of his wand lighted this room, and the light was too dim to fill the vast darkness that surrounded him. He looked around quickly at what he could see (which was almost absolutely nothing). 

__

I must be in the mouth of the statue, he thought. _This is where the basilisk_ _was_.... _This is where the gem should be_.... 

Harry took a step farther into the room. He looked around, walking in more ever so slowly. 

Then he saw it. A small table was lying in one corner of the room and a transparent box lay on top of it. It reminded Harry of the muggle jewelry shops he had seen. The transparent cube usually had something expensive or exotic in it....

Harry hastily went to the table's side, but as he neared, his excitement died. Only a small velvet pillow was inside the glass cube, and the gem must've been on that.

He sighed, trying hard not to think of what might've happened to the stone... or who got it....

__

It couldn't be Voldemort, could it? he asked himself.

He had never heard of the Dark Lord owning a gem, or using one, so perhaps there was hope that Salazar Slytherin merely misplaced the gem... or so he told himself. 

Suddenly, a hiss came from behind him. Harry jumped. Could basilisks see better in the light or dark? 

__

It doesn't matter 'cause they can smell.... Harry thought.

Nevertheless, he gripped his wand tightly and muttered, "_Nox_."

The light from his wand abruptly shut off and he was swept into darkness. 

The hiss came again, and Harry moved sideways, away from the noise. He closed his eyes, inching towards what he hoped to be the exit.

__

What should I do? What can I do?

He heard the faint hiss again, too soft to be made out. 

__

Can I control a basilisk? he thought. _If I can't then_.... _The basilisk's_ _weakness is its eyes_.... _Damage the eyes_.... 

Then, from behind him, a voice hissed, "You are a parssselmouth, but you are a ssstranger to me...."

Harry didn't know what to say. He heard a small slithering sound coming toward him. Just then, he ran into a wall. 

Harry turned around and saw two green eyes staring intently at him from the darkness. He drew back in surprise.

"Why are your eyes glowing? Are you a snake?" he asked in English.

"Anssswer me sssstranger...."

"_Lumos_," Harry muttered. Light flashed into the room and he blinked several times before he could see properly again. 

A small, blue and green snake was slithering towards him; its eyes were sparkling green.

"Your eyesss," Harry hissed. "Why are they green?"

The snake brought its top portion upright and stared into Harry's eyes.

"Yoursss are alssso...." it said.

"But... why do they glow?"

"I am ssspecial...." the snake answered. "I am immortal...."

Harry didn't exactly know what to do. He had never seen this snake before, and it felt awkward speaking to it. 

He looked around for the staircase.

"What is your purpose of being here?" the snake asked.

"To find a gem...." Harry answered warily.

The snake cringed. Its eyes sparked in submissive fear. 

"Yesss.... The man who made this place put it here...." it said.

"Well, where is it?" Harry asked apprehensively.

The snake flicked its head. "It usssed to be over there... but not anymore...."

"Then, where isss it?"

Again the snake showed fear, even more this time.

It wavered a bit then said, "Someone came... very evil that one was.... He took the gem... and he used it...."

"Who wass he?"

The snake lowered its body. It moved out of the light. 

"Darker than of all darkness. He brought evil into the blackest places.... He told me to call him the Dark Lord...."

Harry choked out, "Voldemort?"

"Yesss.... But he was originally called Tom Marvolo Riddle...."

A sickening sensation built up. Harry let out his breath. He had been right. Voldemort had taken it, and used it. All the lies in the world could not cover up the plain truth.

The snake looked up at Harry.

"Why do you want it?" the snake asked.

Harry snapped back into reality.

"What?"

"Why do you want the gem? It is all evil, but I do not sense evil in you...." the snake said.

"Not to use it.... To make sure that no one will use it for bad purposes...." Harry answered.

"I see...."

Harry watched as the snake slithered back into the light.

"Perhapsss," it said, "he put it in the secret tunnel...."

"What?"

The snake cocked its head in confusion. 

"You have never heard of the Secret Tunnel?"

Harry shook his head slowly. Then he said, "No," in case the snake didn't know what shaking his head meant.

"I thought that you would know.... No wonder why you didn't check in there...."

The snake slithered off, hissing, "Follow me...."

Harry hurried after the green/blue snake, not wanting to lose it.

"It isss here...." the snake stated, after stopping at the other side of the room.

Harry went to the wall. There was no tunnel. It looked like a normal wall to him: solid. 

The snake quickly hissed, "Thisss isss where I ssstay.... I will be here if you need anything...."

It slithered off into the darkness.

Harry watched it leave, then turned his attention back to the wall. 

It was very dusty. He thought he saw some lumps in it, but couldn't be sure. 

To get the dust off, Harry blew on it. The gray specs swirled around him and filled his nostrils. 

Harry sneezed.

After the dust had cleared, and Harry had caught his breath again, he looked up at the wall. It was now cream colored, and a crack ran from the top to the bottom. Two serpents were carved on either side of the crack. Their eyes were black jewels.

Harry reached out his hand and wiped off the excess dust. Then, he traced the crack with his first finger. 

__

This must be another passageway, he thought.

Breathing in slowly, Harry thought of the possibilities that the gem might be located in the so-called Secret Tunnel. It was worth a try....

Staring at the two serpents, he hissed, "Open...."  
A deep rumbling filled the room. The ground under Harry's feet shook with might, and he grabbed the wall for support, afraid that he might lose his balance and fall. 

It felt like an earthquake was happening. Harry hoped that the statue wouldn't crumble. 

Suddenly, the wall was gone, for it had parted, and Harry stumbled forward without support. Losing his balance he fell. He stayed crouched on the ground. He was sure that if he got up, he would topple over again....

Then, the rumbling ceased. 

The silence took Harry by surprise, and his ears faintly ringed from the memory of the noise. He shook his head a little bit. 

Slowly, Harry got up. He looked into the statue's mouth, where he had come from. Then, hesitantly, he turned and stared down the passageway that led into darkness. From what he could see, it was muddy and very long....

__

The Secret Tunnel.... he thought. 


	7. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

A/N: Was a bit moody when this was written. I think you'll see what I mean....

CHAPTER EIGHT

MESSAGES 

Harry stared at the magnificent tunnel. He slowly took a step forward, peering into the never-ending darkness. The damp ground made a dull sound as he walked farther into the mysterious tunnel. Harry held his wand high over his head to see more clearly.

__

I wonder where this goes? he thought.

He sped up now, anticipating the destination of the tunnel. Harry went to a bend and when he looked behind himself, he no longer saw the exit to the statue's mouth. 

The tunnel seemed to be leading nowhere. Harry had been walking for awhile now. He wasn't even sure how long. The boring darkness seemed to lengthen the supposingly passed time, and when he looked down at his watch, only a minute or two had passed ever since the last time he had glanced at the clock. Therefor, he stopped checking the time. Now, all he could think about was the infinite tunnel.

Harry groaned thinking: _I'll turn back if I don't get anywhere in 15 minutes_.

But, fifteen minutes came and went, and still, Harry did not turn around. He kept telling himself that something would happen in five minutes.

It was strange. The tunnel was definitely something different, almost eerie. It seemed to grasp at Harry, drawing him into its depths, into the darkest of secrets, where no light could help him....

Harry shook his head lightly, telling himself not to think negatively. He gave a small laugh that rang nervously into the tunnel, trailing off, never to be found again. Harry listened for an echo, hoping to hear one. Nothing but silence followed.

It wasn't a cold night, but nonetheless, Harry felt cold. He felt like ice water was washing over him. He felt like his breath came out as cold fog.

He felt that something or someone was watching him. Every few minutes, Harry spun around; staring into a nothingness so real that it almost drove him to the edge of his nerve. He realized that no one but Hermione knew where he was, and even she didn't know about the secret tunnel. If he were to get lost... or hurt somehow-

Harry stopped and pushed his glasses up again. Although it felt cold, he was sweating.

He laughed inwardly to himself, telling his conscience to stop imagining things. Nothing could harm him here... or so he thought. 

Harry continued on, stopping himself from gazing into the long passageway in front of him. He stared at his moving feet instead, the feet that felt like they belonged to someone else, oddly enough. He told himself to turn around, but the strange feet kept moving along as if they had a mind of their own.

The tunnel was magnetizing. It just kept propelling one to its end. It was like something really important was at the exit, something that was needed to be seen and found....

Finally, Harry reached another wall. This one greatly resembled the one before. It was creme colored and it was a little dusty, but something was peculiar about the snakes carved onto the wall. Harry looked closely at them and made out that they had clear gems for eyes. 

Knowing what to do, Harry said: "Open."

A deep rumbling came from beneath his feet as if a great explosion was coming from the center of the earth, but he noticed that the floor did not shake as badly as the one before. He managed to keep his footing without support, only wavering once.

The walls parted as they had so before. And Harry stared up in awe. He gasped. 

The tunnel had opened out into the wilderness. It was something he had never seen before. He scanned the ground and trees and guessed that it was the mountains by Hogwarts. 

Hesitantly, Harry walked out of the tunnel. The moon shone brightly overhead as a full circle. The sounds of nighttime life rang out from the shadows. 

Nearby, an owl hooted. Harry jumped, then looked into its bright brownish/yellow eyes. The owl hooted again, opened it wings and flew silently off into the night.

Harry bit his bottom lip nervously, then looked around at the scene in front of his eyes. Nothing particularly interesting was in sight, like the green gem. 

Harry walked forward into the shadows. His eyes swept the ground for anything that resembled what he was searching for. Although it seemed silly, Harry also looked up into the trees. Their dark figures were outlined by the moon's light overhead.

The shadows grew more menacing as he walked into the rows of trees more. Glancing around, Harry thought of what to tell Hermione.

__

"Oh, there was nothing there, only trees and bushes._ There were a lot of shadows also," he would tell her_.

__

"Are you sure? Did you double-check? Perhaps you should go again._ No_._ You _should_ go again, just to be safe_. _You _have_ to go again_._"_

Harry wondered why Hermione was so bossy sometimes. 

Suddenly, he heard something to his right. He held out his wand in front of him and stared into the darkness. There had been a subtle rustle.

__

Probably an animal.... Harry thought.

Warily, Harry walked on a little. He didn't hear any more strange noises, but nothing else happened either.

After a few minutes of useless searching, Harry turned back again. He doubted that the gem was still in Hogwarts or near it. Voldemort had probably used it, then hidden it somewhere else. 

His mind was somewhere else as he walked back, and as he thought about the gem, he kicked something and stumbled.

"Ah!"

He dropped his wand as he tried not to fall, maintaining his balance barely.

Harry muttered, "I have to watch where I'm going...." to himself and bent over to retrieve his wand. He turned to see what had nearly tripped him.

A flat, white rock- made out of marble, Harry guessed- that was the size of his palms was half buried in the ground. There was a small hole in it, near the bottom.

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously and was about to take a step forward when something rustled again. 

He spun around, staring into the darkness. Something was there, but he didn't know what it was. The sound repeated, now in a different place than the last. Harry turned toward where he guessed the noise was coming from.

Taking a last look into the darkness, he turned around and went back to the Secret Tunnel. The strange rock was practically forgotten under all his questions.

***

The moonlight streamed down onto the ground, flooding it with a silky presence. The tall trees cast mysterious shadows and the forest was vivid with sounds. But the noise suddenly died down in subtle submission.

Standing alone in the middle of a clearing in the trees, a rock began to glow softly white. This rock had a smooth surface that seemed to glitter from the shadows.

Carvings were inscripted onto the rock. The words were scrolled across the top because the bottom had a small hole dented into it. The hole had a strangely familiar shape to it....

Again, the stone glittered softly; sending small sparks onto the ground it was buried in. The mysterious white light grew.

From the rock, voices seemed to whisper....

***

Harry ran into the tunnel. He started to go farther when the light from the moon behind him caught his attention. The tunnel hadn't closed yet. 

Harry went back. He stared up at the barely visible snakes. The wall was almost overlapped by the other one.

"Close...." Harry hissed in parseltounge.

He heard the rumbling, but he ran into the darkness of the tunnel, not caring if the terrible quakes made him fall. They echoed off the walls eerily as Harry ran on. Eventually, the rumbling stopped and all was silent.

"_Lumos_," Harry whispered when the darkness had swallowed him into its depths and he could no longer see in front of himself. 

The light flickered on at the end of his wand. It looked small and insignificant to the size/length of the tunnel. It was the tiniest ray of hope in a world filled with darkness....

Harry finally slowed down, then walked. He tried to catch his breath. A stitch that had bothered him while he ran now grew more painful. It seemed strange to Harry that his cramps got worse when he stopped running.

Using his wand, he guided himself in the dark, damp tunnel. His own shadow flickered on the wall dimly, lighted by the small point of his wand. His footsteps sounded dully to him as he walked on through the tunnel.

Harry looked down at his watch.

__

2:_53am_

He sighed. Hermione would probably have a fit if she were still awake.

Harry wondered what Ron would say when he found out that Harry had gone to the Chamber of Secrets without him. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too upset....

Harry walked on, trying to think of his warm bed instead of the damp tunnel. He tried to think of what the next day would be like, not the present day that he was walking in.

Suddenly, almost indistinguishable, a small breeze blew from behind him.

Harry stopped. He felt the small hairs on the back of his neck rise. Suddenly, he felt strangely cold again.

Another breeze came and Harry held his breath, his fear and suspicion growing with anxiety. He thought the wind had whispered to him.... 

__

Impossible.... he told himself.

The words had been too soft to distinguish... if there were any words....

The wind again whispered to him, soft as can be, but he heard them:

__

"Come and go, as you may, but the Cavern of Souls shall always stay...._"_

The words (if they were words) repeated themselves. They were so muted that the keenest of hearing would not be able to tell them apart from the slightest breeze.

Harry slowly turned around, staring back at the darkness.... He held his wand over his head and squinted into the black of the night. 

A stronger burst of wind flew. This one moved his hair as the message rang out softly, but louder than the last.

__

"Come and go, as you may, but the Cavern of Souls shall always stay...._"_

"Who's there?" Harry asked, surprised by the own sound of his voice.

He was only answered by an echo of the words spoken before....

Then, a small sparkle appeared at the end of the tunnel. It grew larger and glittered like a bright star. 

The wind whispered again....

The sparkle of light slowly grew larger as the message changed.

__

"What lays in front of you shall always remain true, but it can be changed by _none other than you_...._"_

"What?" Harry asked to no one, now livid with fear.

__

"The future is cold like ice, as seen from above, but warmed not only by _sacrifice, but love_...._"_

There was a burst of light and the wind flew again, stronger than before.

__

"The sacrifice of the past, will become true at last, but one cannot go on, until one learns to forget...._"_

The small light at the end of the tunnel seemed to have become a mirror, because Harry saw himself, looking strangely pale with his wand raised. It changed and his two friends were standing beside him. Then, in slow motion, he saw himself, Hermione, and Ron turn and run....

The image misted and morphed into another. 

Everyone in the school was running in havoc. They were outside of Hogwarts though....

Harry took a step back.

__

"What lays in front of you shall always remain true, but can be changed by _none other than you_...._"_

And the picture changed once again.

Harry's blood ran cold as he stared into the image. Dread swept over him in fury. The darkness seemed to grow darker. It seemed to press down upon him. 

Harry slowly backed up even more, his head pounding with thoughts and questions. 

"No...." he said, shaking his head numbly.

The image grew clearer. Sharp lines replaced the static and brought it into focus.

"No," he repeated louder. 

The image flashed and changed; and right then, he spun on his heel and ran, but not before seeing Hogwarts crumbling before his eyes....

__

"What you see before you is true... _although you will not believe_...._"_

The voice grew louder behind him and he ran faster. He didn't believe.... It was rubbish.... It was a lie....

But something told Harry that it wasn't a lie.... 

__

"The truth is not hidden forever!"

And those words pierced Harry's heart. He strained to think of other things, but it was stamped in his mind.

He sprinted down the tunnel blindly, running as fast as he could. If he ran fast enough, he could leave reality behind him....

But from behind him, a haunting song arose. It was a human voice that sang it. The voice belonged to a female... and it triggered something in Harry's mind. He knew that voice....

It rose beautifully into the prolonged silence. Although its uniqueness was amazing, it also cut through the darkness and it chilled Harry to the bones. 

He shivered involuntarily and tried desperately to block out the voice. It was only a voice, but that voice brought such impacting emotions into him. It was only a song, and it could not hurt him.... Yet, he felt as if he was torn into a thousand pieces by the echoing notes held together by a long strand of connection: each piece with millions of questions contained in them....

Harry ran faster although he thought that it was physically impossible for him to move any faster. He heard the pounding beat of his heart in his head, but even that could not sustain the eerie sound from behind him.

The voice seemed to be warning him... a warning of the terrible things that were to happen.... It was telling him in sorrow that he could not hide from the darkness forever; he could not cower behind the walls of his school any longer. He would not be protected forever....

The image before the one of Hogwarts demolishing flickered into his mind even though he was urging it out.

__

No....

It danced like a candle's flame, turning this way and that; and blinking every now and then.... Harry's pleas with it were in vain, for the image would not leave. It would not disperse with the mere thought of it leaving. It would not go until it served its purpose as the truth. And for a second or two, the image cleared and Harry saw it distinctly for the second time in that night.

The voice rang out from behind him as whispers clashed in. The image added on to the chaos in Harry's mind and his head pounded even harder. 

__

No.... he thought.

Harry stumbled sideways, hitting his shoulder on the wall. He heard the harsh whispers and the song from behind him rise as he pushed himself away from the tunnel wall. He suddenly found himself standing in the statue's mouth again.

Harry turned around, eyed the snakes and gasped: "Close...."

The huge rumbling echoed off the walls. It seemed like a monstrous thing was growling. But miraculously, the singing was still heard above all the noise. 

Suddenly, there was a huge flash and the tunnel was flooded with white light. Simultaneously, the voice sung a high note that cut through all evil: destroying all darkness and giving only pure hope. The note was hauntingly held and it swirled like the wind, the hurtful truth. 

For a second, Harry saw someone standing in the tunnel, the light shining with power behind her. The note held by her voice rose high above everything as Harry stared into her eyes that shone like an angel's.

Harry gasped and took a step forward, toward the light. A gust of wind blew. The note and the light were abruptly cut off as the tunnel walls closed. 

Harry plunged into darkness.

He took a step back as his knees buckled and he slumped against a wall. Harry slowly sat down onto the cold floor; aware of the insecure breaths he was taking. He blinked, thinking of the woman that he saw.

Her hair had been blowing around her swiftly as her white dress whipped around her ankles. She had been holding a single flower in her hands. The flower had been white, the color of purity. The light had seemed to wrap around her blindingly, but nothing could have prevented Harry from seeing her meaningful eyes: the eyes that held depth and sorrow, love and truth. The eyes that Harry recognized....

In the split second that he had seen her, Harry had recognized her.

"Mum...." Harry whispered, almost as a question. He clutched his wand tightly in his hand and closed his eyes.

__

It's not possible.... he thought. Then: _How many times have I told that to_ _myself? It's not possible_.... _Anything is possible_....

Harry's mind quickly set on the message that was being delivered through the song.

__

"It's the truth...._"_ it had seemed to tell him. 

But could he believe? He could hardly comprehend what he had seen in the tunnel, much less what he had heard.

__

The Cavern of Souls..._ the future_..._ cold as ice_..._ sacrifice_..._ love_....

What did it mean?

..._It can be changed by none other than you_....

What could be changed?

Was Hogwarts going to fall? Was it going to be taken over by the dark lord? 

__

But... _Voldemort is scared of Dumbledore_.... _He can't attack the school_ _under the headmaster's care_.... Harry told himself.

Still, his subconscience told him otherwise.

__

The truth....

Quickly, Harry got up and ran down the stairs to the Chamber of Secrets. He didn't even stop to close the entrance into the statue. 

"I can't believe it.... I won't believe it...." he told himself, yet he knew that it was another lie. 

He had lied to himself that nothing could happen to him while he was at Hogwarts long ago. He had lied to himself that Voldemort couldn't have taken the green gem. Now, he was lying to himself about everything that had happened, and he knew that all the lies couldn't cover up the truth. 

Before he had run away from the images, before he had seen the school destructed, he had seen something even more frightening.

Harry had seen Hermione, but her eyes had been closed. She had been pale.... She had been dead.... 

***

A small stream of light from the moon trailed into the 6th year girls' dormitory. It was a sparkling presence of good. Around it, the darkness grew.

Hermione tossed in her bed. She muttered and kicked at her covers while having a nightmare. 

"No...." she moaned.

In the dream, she was in darkness. The night seemed to suffocate her, wrapping her with fear. 

"Harry.... Ron...." she called out.

Then, she saw a clearing. Hermione walked out of the darkness, but it was replaced by redness. Everything was covered in a shade of red.

Hermione looked up. The sun-no, the moon- the moon was glowing red. The deep red made her insides churn and she turned away from it, staring at the ground. It was also flooded with red... a red that resembled blood....

Hermione recoiled.

Suddenly, a cackle rang out. It was all around her. It was evil laughter, and it was laughing at her....

"No.... Harry! Ron!"

There was a flash and the red was replaced by pure darkness.

There was a loud thud and a high scream.

Hermione stared down at her hands. They were shaking, and blood ran down them. Blood.... No.... Were they her own? 

As she looked up and saw two red eyes looming out of the darkness. They sneered at her.

Hermione turned and ran. She ran into the darkness. She kept running blindly. She didn't dare to stop. If she stopped, something terrible would happen....

Then, something hit her foot and she tripped, falling onto her bloody hands.

Hermione looked up in horror and gasped. She saw Hogwarts, but the school was in ruins: in clumps of ashes and rocks... the very things that the magnificent castle had been built with....

Hermione turned away, got up and ran again. She ran as fast as she could go, until her throat was dry and every breath felt like she was inhaling fire; until her heart was pounding madly in her chest; until she felt like falling down in a heap, unable to do anything but lie on the floor. 

But still, she wouldn't stop.

Then, Hermione came up to a wall that loomed out of the darkness menacingly. It was a barrier that would stop her.... She wouldn't be able to escape the darkness and something terrible would happen....

"No!" Hermione screamed, throwing herself onto the white, marble wall. She pounded it with all her might, making her hands throb even more with endless pain. But the pain in her hands was nothing compared to the emotions she was feeling. 

It was indescribable. She had no idea why she hurt so badly; why she needed the barrier to open once more....

Hermione realized that she was crying, sobbing. She collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. Sobs racked her body and she simply let the tears flow down her face: gingerly falling onto the earth beside her. 

__

Something will happen... she thought, _something that I have to avoid_.... 

But inside her, she knew that she would be able to avoid nothing.

Then, a gray slab of stone appeared in front of her. With a sickening sensation, she realized that it was a gravestone. Hermione sat upright slowly and looked down at it with horror... but it was blank: it was smooth with nothing written on it.

Hermione sighed slowly, but her relief was short-lived. Letters-one by one-started to appear on the rock's smooth surface as if some unearthly force was just then imprinting them on....

H-A-R-R-Y

Everything from all around her suddenly glowed a deep, dense red.

P-O-T-T-E-R

Hermione felt a sense of dread wash over her slowly: inch by inch.

S-t-u-d-e-n-t o-f H-o-g-w-a-r-t-s 

"No...." Hermione moaned, taking deep breaths. She was suffocating.... She would die also....

"NO!" she yelled, putting her hands on the gravestone as she vainly tried to push it away. 

Her eyes started to sting as she looked back at the words.

She drew her hands quickly away from the tombstone and moved back wards. She had to get away from it.... It was a lie.... She had to get away from the lies....

Her handprints stood out on the surface of the rock. They stood out as an accusation.

Her hands burned hot. They hurt as if they had been scathed by fire.

__

It's my entire fault... she thought. _It's my entire fault_.... 

Her tears came in hot swells now. Agony ripped through her body and she clenched her fists to drive it away. A loud ringing seemed to fill her head as her words echoed around her. They grew louder, pounding in her ears. 

Someone was calling, calling for her. 

"Stop!" she yelled.

Someone -or more than one- started to whisper, joining the chaos.

A flower... a beautiful, white flower lay in her hands. She stared at it, bearing the pain in her head. It was so perfect. It seemed to glow.

Then -in slow motion- a drop of blood fell onto the tip of its petal. It slowly absorbed the blood and soaked red. Just as slow, the flower wilted.

Everything was red. Everything was wrong. Nothing was right. This couldn't be happening.

All the voices mixed up in her head grew louder. Her temples throbbed. She couldn't make out what they were saying; couldn't hear the individual voices.

She stood up quickly, holding her forehead.

"Hermione!" Harry's voice called from far away. 

She turned around, eyes searching in all directions. 

"Harry!" she screamed, trying to reach him. "HARRY!"

She ran toward where his voice had sounded before. She ran into the everlasting red.

But the gravestone appeared again.

HARRY POTTER

Student of Hogwarts

She wouldn't be able to find him. He was gone....

"It's your fault!" someone seemed to yell at her, or was she yelling at herself?

Hermione covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out the sounds.

"It's not my fault.... It's not my fault!"

Notwithstanding her efforts, the voices and pounding in her head continued. 

Hermione turned in all directions blindly. Why were they accusing her? She couldn't have done anything. She had tried.... She had tried, but not hard enough....

Her thoughts changed and she began to blame herself.

__

It's my entire fault.... she thought. _My fault_....

Hermione held her head in her hands, trying to push out the havoc. 

__

Darkness.... _Evil_....

It was too much. The redness... the blood... the laughing, the whispering, the voices.... It wasn't her fault! She couldn't have prevented it! No one could've prevented it.... Her head pounded even more painfully.

Hermione screamed.

A/N: I know it probably didn't make any sense at all.... I'm sorry! It has future meaning.... 


	8. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

Author's Note: I'm very, very sorry that I couldn't get this up sooner! I've been very busy! I apologize again! 

CHAPTER NINE

ELIXER

She fell.

Hermione's eyes snapped open as her back hit the hard floor of the dormitory. She let out a muffled yell, quickly shutting her mouth, not wanting to wake anyone.

She turned over and sat up slowly, unnerved. The floor seemed cold as her hand rested on it, tensely. She noticed that she felt cold all over... but she was sweating.

Hermione reached up to her forehead and wiped her face with the back of her hand. She shakily pulled her hair back behind her ears and looked around.

The girls' dormitory looked just as it should. All of its occupants were apparently fast asleep; the room around her was in its usual orderly fashion.

Hermione turned her head around and stared at her own mess of a bed. It was the only the out of the ordinary. All her covers were tangled up and half of them fell to the floor. Her pillows were in the wrong spot—hanging on the verge of tumbling off—damp with sweat. Her mattress was wrinkled in bunches because she had been tossing and turning. 

The dull throb on her hands and arms reminded her of the nightmare that had woken her. Afraid of what she was going to see, Hermione turned her hands over so that the palms were visible and slowly peered down at them. They were shaking and lined with sweat, but there was no blood, no bruises. 

Hermione held her hands in her lap and bit her lip. She stared down at the floor.

__

The darkness... _the redness_....

__

The presence of overpowering evil....

Hermione put a fist to her mouth and whimpered.

The dream... it had been so real... too real. Did it mean anything?

Hermione felt a tingling sensation at her nose, the feeling of grief. She felt the stiffness in her face and the tears that began to well up at her eyes.

She blinked and two streamed down her cheeks, hot on her face. She quickly reached up and sustained them. 

Hermione noticed that she was shaking almost uncontrollably. She was also very tense. Her muscles had seized up and now hurt from her efforts to not cry. 

Hermione relaxed a bit and put her hands around her shoulders, hugging herself. As she blinked, more tears came, but she did not attempt to cease them. It felt better to rid of them: rid of the pain....

She closed her eyes and sobbed quietly to herself, vainly trying to calm down. She felt the fear that she had stumbled upon in the dream.... She felt it crawl up her spine and onto her neck, making her shudder. Hermione put her hand up to her neck. The touch of her cold hands made her open her eyes.

__

Red light... _the color of the moon_....

Her eyes shifted and she looked at the moonlight streaming steadily into the room. It was white....

"Good," she whispered quietly. 

She slowly let go of her shoulders and got up. She was still trembling subtly. Quickly, she made her way to the door, her feet barely touching the cold floor. She looked around at her sleeping roommates before quietly slipping out.

Hermione silently walked down the stairs, only partly aware of where she was. The other part of her was still trapped in the dream... with no way out....

She made her way down the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione looked around for any signs of Harry returning. When she didn't see any, she sullenly went and opened the portrait hole a crack and peeked out into the dark corridors. The torches at the end of the hallway shone dully, barely casting light over the gray rocks. Beside that, there was nothing. 

Hermione sighed apprehensively. 

__

What's taking him so long? She wondered. 

She left the portrait hole ajar so that Harry wouldn't have any trouble when he did return. Then, taking one last look out, she went to the nearest chair and sank down into it. Hermione felt energy-less. The dream had taken too much energy... and it was still draining her with the mere memory of it....

That dream again....

Hermione blinked. It was only a nightmare.... Nothing to worry and fret over....

But under her thoughts, a question bubbled up:

__

Is it just a nightmare?...

***

Harry ran through the chamber, barely aware of his pounding heart. He had to get back into the school. Something sinister had happened.... He knew it.... He felt it like a cold hand around the back of his neck, penetrating eyes staring through him....

"Oh, no!" Harry yelled. 

How was he going to get out of the chamber this time? In his second year, Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix, had flown them out....

Harry stopped running although he felt very insecure about standing still. He quickly looked around him, turning in circles, squinting into unknown shadows....

"Come on... come on!" he whispered urgently.

His very stillness was wrong for he was wasting time.... It was almost like the seconds on a clock were ticking away in his ears, magnified a thousand times.

Then, a small crawlspace at the darkest corner of the chamber caught his eyes. Without thinking, Harry ran to it, knelt down, and went in.

***

There were footsteps. The sound of the nightlife quieted again, but this time... in fear, not submission. They knew when evil was among them....

The glittering stone faded and lost its glow. Everything seemed to have stopped, even the wind.

A twig snapped and a shadow loomed out of the darkness, approaching the rock. When it reached the white stone, the figure bent over and extended a long, bony finger towards a footprint left behind from someone who had recently been there. The loose sand moved slightly at the touch.

"Harry Potter..." a voice said softly, coldly.

The finger withdrew.

A small laugh escaped the figure of evil. The laugh grew louder. It became a cackle that even the night seemed to cringe away from. 

The enigma of a person thought darkly to himself. 

He had let the Potter boy live to witness the destruction of his own future.... He would die, soon enough, but this was a cruel game where everyone that didn't know the rules would become mere pieces to be toyed with before being tossed away as useless. And the Dark was winning the game, for only _they _knew the plans. And the plan was working.... Hogwarts would belong as one of their pieces soon enough, and nothing would be able to stop the evil....

A cruel smile formed on the figure's face and he let out another long cackle. The forest seemed to shake. It seemed to shake with a mix of fear and hate for the laugh that echoed above the treetops. It seemed to shake with a certain fury to it as the figure thought to himself again.

__

Fire will burn. _Scorching even the ashes of things already consumed_. _Fire will blaze through the night, lighting only the pathway of destruction_. _We shall conquer with flames!_

Red eyes glowed from the darkness.

__

Evil _will conquer_....

***

"Ouch!" Harry let out a muffled yell. 

He had run into a solid surface with his forehead. Harry moved back slightly and massaged the small throb on his head. Then, he looked at what he had run into.

A wall stood before him. He looked up and saw that the crawlspace had opened into a small, narrow cell. But, although the space was small, the walls extended upward so much that Harry suspected them of reaching the heavens. The faintest glow at the top caught his eye and suddenly, Harry realized that the cell did indeed open up into the sky. There was a larger patch of darkish blue to his right and a tiny patch of blue/black to the left. The glow was coming from the larger patch.

__

The moon... he thought. _So, the patches must be openings_.

Then, his gaze lowered to a few feet above him and to his surprise, he saw a 3 dimensional snake shaped out of the wall. 

Harry got closer to the wall and stood up. It was very tight with all the walls surrounding him. And straight ahead, at eye level, was the snake that protruded from the barrier he had run into.

The serpent was very small, about the width of his thumb and the length of his middle finger, but only half of its body was carved out. It was curved at the head so that only one side of its face was showing. On the visible side, a small red gem represented the eye. 

Harry marveled at the snake, and then (craning his neck), the height of the walls with the two holes that revealed the sky at the top. 

But, he knew that he had to get back so his eyes once again met the serpent's.

"Open..." Harry hissed.

The wall moved upward. 

Although Harry had been anticipating a great rumble, it never came. Only a small hiss came when the wall stopped, revealing another crawlspace that severely sloped upward. 

Harry knelt down once more and looked up into the darkness of the new passageway. Then, slowly, he entered.

***

Andeline walked in the dimly lit corridors. She peered around. Something felt wrong. It had felt wrong ever since she had seen someone sneaking around by the Forbidden Forest. And although she did not know for certain that it was "someone", she felt that it was. 

Had something happened? She hoped that it hadn't, but she knew for a fact that most of her hunches came true.... But, if something had happened... she knew that there was nothing that they could do about it. 

__

What happens will have gone by and all we can do is cope with it... she thought.

Andeline stopped in the middle of the barren hallway. She knew for a fact that the past could not be changed....

__

The night was dark but not in its usual serene way._ Something was different, but not physically_.... _There was something wrong but nothing was spoken up about it_.

__

Then, near the middle of the night, when the moonlight shone dully into the room, something rustled. The noise grew closer and closer, approaching with caution, then, quite rapidly. 

Suddenly, someone rushed into the room.

"Get out! Hurry!"

A sizzle pierced the night and everything was lit up in a bright blaze of red, orange and yellow. The heat was unbearable as smoke rose steadily, filling the rooms like silent fingers searching and searching....

There was a scream and a thud.

The floor was hard against the hands. The surrounding was hot against the skin.

The flames spread rapidly around, enclosing the house. The fire blazed in the night....

The burnt smell rose into the nose, tickling the throat.

"Where are you?"

"Here!"

"I can't see!"

"Follow my voice!"

The door was seen through a haze of smoke. It drew nearer as the throat tightened.

"The fire is too fast! It's too fast!"

Into the hallway, breaths coming short. 

The flames blazed with unbearable pain. Sweat streamed steadily down.

The crackling sound grew more urgent as the house buckled.

"Over here! Hurry!"

Then, from outside: "Morsmordre!"

Green light shone through the smoke and the eyes saw a figure of the Dark Lord. 

"NO!"

"Andeline!"

She snapped back.

__

The dark corridors... _the dim lights_... she thought. _That's where I am_... _not there_....

She sighed and cast her eyes onto the floor as she slowly moved on. A subtle tremble ran over her spine and the silence grew. She turned a corner and saw that it led to a staircase that went down.

Andeline frowned and turned around. She needn't go down deeper into the school. She needn't go farther into the darkness.

Then-suddenly-two voices spoke from behind her. 

She automatically shrank close to the walls, into the shadows. The voices neared, speaking rapidly in low tones. They belonged to the Potions master and Professor McGonagall.

"Severus... are you absolutely sure?"

"Minerva! How many times do I have to tell you? This may be our only chance!"

Their voices sounded urgent.

Andeline saw them come around the far end of the corridor she was on and turn at the staircase that was leading down.

"Why are we going to the dungeons?" The transfiguration teacher questioned.

"Some of my potions are..." his voice became mumbled and droned on as murmuring whispers.

Andeline paused, then peered into the hallway that held the staircase.

__

Where are they going? She thought.

Making up her mind to follow, the girl turned the corner and vanished into the depths of the oncoming darkness. 

***

Harry noticed the small hiss from behind him. The wall must've closed after him.

His predictions about the new passageway were true.

The crawlspace went almost straight up in an angle and it didn't help that it was slightly slippery. Harry's hands had already lost their placing a few times. 

There was a dim squeak as his right hand slipped a bit.

Although there wasn't any light and all he could see was the darkness that surrounded him, Harry was sure that this was a pipe. He wondered where it led.

After crawling up a short awhile, Harry found that the crawlspace was leveling out. 

__

Almost there... _I think_... he told himself.

The tunnel was now flat. He stopped. The tunnel had stopped. He groped the wall in front of him for a handle or anything. It was still hard for him to see.

He turned his head upward to see if anything was there. The dullest light was streaming in from a crack. 

The wall was now high enough for him to crouch so he lifted himself up a bit and knelt, hands raised to find a rough surface. It felt like a trapdoor. 

Harry paused, then pushed lightly on the exit. It didn't move.

He pushed harder and felt a slight crunch of wood against floor. 

He exerted more force but the trapdoor would not budge. It simply went to a certain height and stopped moving until it dropped again. 

"Open. Come on...." Harry murmured to himself.

His arms hurt from pushing upward and from hanging in the air so long. Harry let them drop, the trapdoor along with them.

__

Now how am I supposed to get out? He asked himself.

Harry stared upward again, seeing the dull light. He fingered the cracks that ran along the cold stone floor/ceiling that the light streamed through. Harry narrowed his eyes, looking at the light. His fingers ran horizontally toward each other. He wondered where he was in the school. His fingers touched. He hesitated, then pushed upward again.

A tingle sprang into his fingertips and the trapdoor made a crunching sound as it moved upward freely.

Baffled, Harry let it drop.

It creaked and crunched as it hit the floor again.

"How did...?" Harry muttered.

__

Think about your questions later. _Just get out now_... he thought.

Once again, Harry put his hands on the trapdoor and pushed upward. It moved up with a sudden jerk. As it opened, there was a squeak that told Harry it had been unused for a long time. 

Then, there was a dull thump as the trapdoor fell to the floor, moving dust. 

Harry peered out to where the crawlspace had led him. With a nervous tension, Harry realized that he was in the dungeons.

Harry put his hands on the dusty floor and slowly eased himself out of the tunnel. There wasn't a source of light in the room. A dim fire from the hallway lit part of the room. Its light was coming from around and under a door. Harry wondered how that same light had managed to get to where the trapdoor lay. 

He picked up the trapdoor and lay it down flat again. Miraculously, it blended in with the floor, looking like one of the tile rocks the makers of Hogwarts had laid. Even the cracks blended in. Harry wondered how long this room had not been used.

Harry hurried to the door. He groped for a handle. There was none. Harry slid his hands over the hard surface of the door. It seemed to be made out of rock. He pushed against it. It didn't move an inch. 

Harry let out a frustrated groan. How was it that he always seemed to be stuck in a problem?

He pushed at the barrier again, this time with more force. Again, the door didn't move.

Harry slammed into the door with his shoulder, only achieving a great ache on it. He stood back and rubbed the place on his shoulder that would certainly bruise the next day while looking around the room. He did not see anything. It was too dark.

A chill suddenly ran up his spine; his body felt cold. 

__

"Professor?" A girl's voice spoke softly. 

Shuffling sounded toward the door. 

"What is it?"

"It's not true... is it? You didn't—"

"—Certainly not...."

"Father says that—"

"Dear, don't always believe what people say...." her voice -the professor's- sounded tired.

The girl's whispered with fear: "Will they not—"

"They can't kill me yet."

"Professor.... I trust that you did not what they accuse you of, but he—"

"Slytherin will always have a bad name. Trust that—your beliefs. They will not lead you wrong. Remember to never let anyone tell you otherwise."

Her voice cracked slightly. "Mother told me that."

"--And your mother told you that you were special. Don't let others tell you otherwise."

There was a pause where silence filled the air. 

"You can't get out then?"

"No, Jemaline, I can't."

"Did you try the other door?"

"Of course...."

"But this is unfair! Why doesn't father believe me? You never preformed any Dark Magic!"

"It's okay. If I die—"

"You'll die a lie...."

"No, I won't. You know the truth."

"No one believes me though."

"They all know the truth and when I leave... I will haunt their conscience forever...."

The room lit up, the one Harry stood in, and in that second, he saw something. 

"What?" Harry yelped in surprise.

He stumbled backwards, away from the door, where the conversation had been.... But... that was not possible... for one—the professor—was standing in the dungeon while the girl—Jemaline (apparently)—was outside in the hall. 

But no one was here with Harry.

He grasped his forehead.

__

I am_ going crazy_... he thought.

Then the lighted room once again flickered into his mind. There had been a door... at the other side of the room....

Harry took out his wand and muttered, "_Lumos_."

The familiar light came and illuminated the walls of the room. Indeed, Harry saw another door.

"Oh, my-gosh...." he said and hurried toward it. 

The image had been true.

Harry took the invisibility cloak out of his pocket and fanned it out before him; then he slipped it on. He grabbed the doorknob with numb hands and turned it.

It turned freely.

Harry let out a sigh of relief as the door swung open into... _Snape's old classroom!_

The old room still had many potions in it: the one's that the professor couldn't take up into the Defense against dark Arts room. The beakers and bottles gleamed in the dull light produced by Harry's wand. 

Suddenly, two voices sounded from somewhere outside the dungeon. Harry scuttled away from the door, reaching behind himself to close it. The door swung in halfway, squeaking a bit. Harry was about to close it all the way when Professor Snape and McGonagall hurried in, carrying a torch. It would be too obvious if the door had swung in all by itself, so Harry left it alone and stood in the corner. 

"It's not possible, Severus—" 

"You saw him with your own eyes."

They seemed to be apprehensive, moving quickly down the dungeon while Snape reached out to collect some potions. Professor McGanagall's face was white with horror and Snape looked paler than usual. 

The transfiguration teacher was about to speak up when she saw the door that Harry had entered from; it was still open a crack. 

"Severus? I thought that the room next to your old one was off limits." Her voice sounded softly in the classroom. 

He turned, eyes glaring at the door.

"It is," he said stiffly, cloak sweeping the floor as he neared it. 

The professor's hand grabbed the door, swinging it open. He stuck his head into the next room, eyes peering around for intruders. 

"It was locked.... How did..." he said slowly. 

He turned around, eyes sweeping around his own room, as if looking for the one who opened the door. 

"How could someone get in if it was locked?" Professor McGonagall questioned, approaching the open door.

Snape said dryly, "I don't know... or I would've told you!" His hand slammed the door shut. "We have more important matters to solve to right now...."

Severus Snape began to collect potions again; his hands passing some while the others, he clutched. 

Harry saw him reach for a grayish one when Professor McGonagall asked, "What of the school? The students—"

"Minerva," Snape turned to look at her exasperatedly, "there hasn't been any other signs of what might have caused this. We cannot jump to conclusions, and the best thing to do now is to keep the school operating."

"But—"

"Look, we don't know what happened to Dumbledore. Apparently, there have been signs of the dark arts at Hogwarts, but I don't know what kind of a curse could make the headmaster... go into some kind of an unconsciousness that is we cannot wake. It's like a coma sort of thing... but I doubt any of us have any clue to how this happened. 

"Even the Dark Lord himself was afraid of Dumbledore. How would the students react if they found out that their protection at Hogwarts had dispersed? You-Know-Who is sure to try and attack the school, but we needn't arouse panic beforehand. For a temporary time... we will keep quiet."

"Severus... you are sure that the Dark Lord will try and attack Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall's voice seemed pained. 

"People have been saying that. He has his strongest followers behind him now. Even if Dumbledore were still capable to fight back, You-Know-Who would've attacked anyway. Hogwart's is almost the only thing standing in his way to conquering the world. Now, without the headmaster... his way is clearer."

McGonagall sighed. "We should start making an evacuation plan. If You-Know-Who does attack with full force... we have to get the students to safety."

"Yes, Minerva. You think that I do not know that?"

Professor McGonagall fell silent as Professor Snape turned back to getting his potions. His eyes darted around the room quickly.

__

Perhaps he suspects me of being in here, Harry thought, holding his breath. His blood had run cold. _Dumbledore is in some-sort of coma? How did that happen... how _can_ it happen?_

The transfiguration teacher fidgeted her hands restlessly while she watched professor Snape grab a reddish/purplish potion. 

"What are you going to do, Severus? Will your potions wake the headmaster?"

"Perhaps they will. We will have to try in order to find out."

He reached over to grab a beaker full of gold liquid, but his elbow knocked over a bluish one.

CRASH.

The bottle containing the blue liquid broke and spilled all over the floor. The liquid oozed toward where Harry was.

Snape muttered under his breath and took out his wand.

"_Repairo_!" he said. 

The broken bottle flew together like a puzzle being solved. Snape grabbed it and flicked his wand again. The bluish liquid on the floor floated up in a long stream and entered the repaired bottle.

Snape put it on the shelf and turned back to Professor McGonagall.

"Here, carry that for me will you?" he said, handing her several bottles of different colored liquids. 

She took them while he gathered up the remaining in his arms and nodded his head toward the door.

Professor McGonagall walked swiftly toward it, managing to hold her few bottles and the torch. Snape followed out the door.

Harry watched then. Then, without thinking, he also exited out the door. He saw the professors' backs round a corner up the stairs and jogged quietly after them. 

They made their way up the stairs, then down a few corridors. After walking a few minutes, Harry saw that they had reached the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Fruit Chews," professor Snape said.

The stone gargoyle turned to life and jumped out of the way. They went onto the moving staircase that took them up to the headmaster's office.

As they entered, Harry recognized it instantly. The circular room was filled with magnificent portraits of the past headmasters.

Harry did not have but a few seconds to look around for the professors ran into another room. 

"Minerva. Hand me the little, green potion on the top of the others—yes, that one. Here give it—thank you."

"What are you doing?"  
"Making the strongest Elixer that I know of...." 

Snape took out the reddish/purple bottle Harry had seen him get and poured it into a larger bottle. He dropped a few drops of the green potion into the red liquid. It fizzed and hissed as it mixed together into a dark blue.

The professor went on brewing his potions for about another ten minutes or so, Harry watching apprehensively. Then, Snape heated it, adding herbs.

Finally, the professor said, "Done!" and poured some "elixir" into a small bottle.

"Let's go."

Again, they went to another room, but this time... it was filled with all the teachers of Hogwarts. Hagrid was taking up a lot of space, but no one seemed to mind. There were faces filled with a mixture of hope and fear, while others had doubt written in every line. Some of the teachers merely looked at Professor Snape with misgiving.

Snape hissed, "Move. Come on."

The teachers scattered as the Potions master pushed his way through them. Harry lingered by the door, afraid of getting bumped; it was not a time to arouse more suspicion.

As the teachers moved aside, Harry saw a bed by the wall. Then, with a sinking feeling, he saw that Professor Dumbledore was lying on it. 

Snape dropped some of his potion into the Headmaster's mouth. Then, he slowly backed away, eyes never leaving Dumbledore's face.

The teachers all looked hopefully toward the bed. Nothing was happening. Harry fidgeted around; his skin tingled with anticipation.

Professor Sprout looked at Professor Snape. "How fast should it work?" she asked.

"From a few minutes to half and hour. If nothing has happened then... I doubt anything will happen at all," he answered.

But the time passed, loudly ticking in Harry's ears from the headmaster's wall clock that hung opposite the room. 

Ten minutes....

__

Please... Harry thought.

Twenty minutes.

__

Come on.... 

Thirty minutes... the limit.

Nevertheless, Harry prayed that something would happen....

No one moved... not even breathing, as it seemed. The time ticked on further to thirty-five minutes. Forty minutes.... Finally, the teachers started to exit slowly.

Hagrid stayed by Dumbledore's side. He kept muttering, "Great man ye are...."

Snape turned to McGonagall's shocked, white face.

"Only a miracle can occur now...." Professor McGonagall whispered. 

"We can hope...." Snape said. "We can always hope."

Professor McGonagall nodded solemnly at Snape, eyes cast down. Then, she turned to Hagrid.

"Come, Hagrid. Let him rest...."

The half-giant reluctantly allowed himself to be steered out the door. Snape... the last one in the room sighed to himself... then exited also... leaving Harry alone in the room.

Harry stood, rooted to his spot long after they had all gone. Then, he slowly made his way across the room to the bed. He looked down at the headmaster, biting his lip.

Dumbledore had his eyes closed. He was pale... very pale... like a ghost. Harry thought to himself that the professor looked dead....

"No," Harry voiced his thoughts. "Don't think like that."

As he stood there... subtle fear began to crawl toward him. It reached with silent hands at him... making his skin crawl. The cold fear neared him and he shivered, thinking of what would happen.

__

What Voldemort does attack? Harry asked himself. _What can we do? We're_ _mostly students_... _some of us are really young_.... 

Harry shifted around. He started toward the door... hoping beyond hope that the headmaster would awake....

***

Ron woke up suddenly. He felt very uneasy. Why?

Ron sat upright and looked around the dormitory.

Everything was alright. It looked the same as usual... just like it did every night.... Ron scanned the area in front of him... then turned to his side.

__

Wait it! He thought. His eyes wandered back to Harry's bed. _Where's Harry? _

Ron put his feet on the cold floor and got up. He made his way quietly to the door and went out. Then, he tiptoed downstairs.

Someone was already in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled.

She jumped, startled, and looked up. "Ron! What're you doing here?"

He stared at her. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Hermione sighed. She looked shaken. "I woke up from a nightmare and couldn't fall back to sleep... so I came down here."

"Where's Harry" Ron questioned further.

"Um...." Hermione looked uneasily around her. "He went to the Chamber of Secrets...." she managed to say.

"What?" Ron practically shouted. "Without me?"

"We were going to tell you! I promise! It just... Dumbledore came for you and everything... and it slipped our minds! I'm sorry! I'm sure he is too! Really! Who wants to go to the Chamber of Secrets anyway?"

"Harry...." Ron scowled.

"Well..." Hermione muttered, "I actually made him...."

"What?" Ron yelled.

"Shhhh!" Hermione hissed. 

"W-why'd you—"

"It's about a gem," she said rapidly. "Harry's been having dreams about it and we thought that he should check if it was still in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Oh... and how'd you start suspecting that it might be in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"It was Salazar Slytherin's. It's evil."

"And... where did you learn that? I doubt most people... even you... might know that." 

At that, Hermione looked even guiltier as she confessed everything—but her nightmare. Ron, listened with his mouth open, gaping at her.

"And you never told me anything?"

"I'm sorry.... Everythings just been so hectic... and there was a period in time that you seemed to be mad at Harry and me."

"Well... you still should've told me anyway!"

"I'm sorry, Ron! Okay?"

"Alright," Ron said more calmly, "It's okay."

He didn't want to upset her even more.

__

Some nightmare she had.... _She looks really nervous_.... Ron thought.

"Do you have a watch?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah."

"What time is it?"

"4:36am."

Hermione groaned. She put her head on her right hand and said, "Where is he? I told him to come back soon! It shouldn't have taken him this long!"

"Calm down, Hermione.... I'm sure he's okay...."

She took a deep breath, eyes closed. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open.

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"W-what?" Ron asked, startled. "Hear what?"

Hermione walked over to the portrait hole. It was open.... Ron was about to ask her why, but decided not to bother her with it.

"I thought that I heard—"

Silence.

Ron stood up and walked over to her.

"I _am_ paranoid," she muttered, turning around.

Then, she heard the footsteps again. 

"What is that?" she asked. "Harry?"

The portrait hole swung open wider. Hermione jumped to her feet. "Harry!"

Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak. Hermione ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"You're alright!" they said simultaneously, relief spreading over them.

Ron cleared his throat.

"Ron! You're awake!" Harry said, surprised.

"Yeah. Where were you? I think you had Hermione going a bit crazy over here."

Hermione let go of Harry. She glared at him. "Yeah! Do you know what I have been through?"

Harry drew in a deep breath.

Hermione stopped. Her accusing face turning into a worried one.

"Guys...." Harry said. "Something happened. There was a secret tunnel in the Chamber of Secrets... and I saw my mum...."

Ron and Hermione gaped at him.

"That's not it.... Dumbledore's in unconsciousness that even the professors could not break.... Like a coma...." 

Author's reminder: All of this has future meaning…. I am apologizing right now for any delay that might occur in the future. I try to get these up sooner… but I'm very busy. Sorry! Please review J


	9. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

CHAPTER NINE  
  
  
  
  
  


BACK TO THE CHAMBER

"_What_?"

"That's why I'm late," Harry explained quickly. "I followed Professors McGonagall and Snape into the headmaster's office. He looks..."

Harry stopped, not sure of himself.

Hermione sighed. "Tell us _everything_!"

"Okay... First... I went to the Chamber of Secrets...."

"Harry..." Ron said, "we know that! Just skip to the part where you went in a passageway or something."

"Well..." Harry continued, "I found a secret passageway at the base of the statue."

Ron's eyes narrowed as he frowned. "What statue?"

Hermione said, "One of Salazar Slytherin... right?"

Harry nodded. "A large one of him.... The one the basilisk came out of."

"Oh, okay. Continue...." Ron said.

Harry sighed. "Well, there was a staircase when the passageway opened. It led up to the mouth of the statue. Then, I found a table with a glass case plus a velvet pillow—"

"—And the gem was in it!" Hermione said enthusiastically. 

Harry and Ron both gave her a questioning look.

"Oops. Sorry...." Hermione mumbled, embarrassed. 

"Okay.... I'll go on...." Harry said.

Hermione and Ron both nodded.

"Well...no. The gem wasn't in it. Then...I met this snake...." 

Harry explained what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets for about fifteen minutes.

"The light turned into a huge viewing glass or something.... I saw us running... including the rest of the school.... Hogwarts,"—pause—"demolished."

Harry left out seeing Hermione...not so alive.... He didn't want to worry her.

"And then?" Ron asked. Both he and Hermione had sustained themselves after their interruptions and it was the first time he had spoken since.

Harry breathed out as he recalled the rest of the night. "Well...I ran...."

Ron nodded. Harry stole a glance at his other friend. Hermione was listening intently to his story. Probably hoping to catch something that he had missed.

Harry looked back at Ron, then down at the floor, remembering vividly. "There was this singing..." he said, almost a whisper. The voice seemed to ring in his ears as he thought back about it. It seemed as if he were there again....

"Harry. Harry!" Ron said.

"What?" Harry rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, sorry."—Pause—"It was a really strange song...and it didn't have words. It was like a vocalization of a song that should have words...although I didn't hear any." He stopped. "That didn't make any sense at all, right?"

Hermione shrugged. Ron shook his head and said, "But, go on."

Harry's eyes found the floor again and the memories flooded back to him quickly...almost as if he were there again as he retold it to his two friends. 

"There was a flash," he said, "and right then...I exited the tunnel. It told it in parseltounge to close...but before it did...I saw her: the person who was singing...."

__

A flash filled the tunnel. Her hands held a single white flower that extended up toward her eyes.... Her eyes.... Their crystal clear stare bore into his....

The heavy thud of the closing walls shut off the light. 

Harry shook his head and slowly looked up at his two friends. "I think that it was my mum...."

And his voice trailed off into the silence that followed.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, unsure of what to say. What could they say...? They weren't there...and had no idea what Harry meant by "his mum". 

Finally, Hermione let out a breath in a deep sigh and bit her bottom lip. She looked up at Harry with uncertain eyes. "Harry," she said. "Your mum is—is gone," she finished.

Harry nodded.

Hermione looked miserable for voicing that fact but she went on. "So, how did you see her then? As a ghost?"

Harry shrugged. "No, I don't think she was a ghost...but she wasn't all that real either. It seemed that she was a...soul? I'm not sure."

"Aren't souls and ghosts the same thing?" Ron asked. Harry shrugged. Ron sighed. "So, why would her soul come back here?"

"I dunno," Harry said. "It seemed that she wanted me to understand that the messages were somewhat true."

An uncomfortable silence once again settled over them. For a few minutes Harry sat brooding about the night's events; Hermione pondered her nightmare that she wished to forget; it related too much to Harry's visions; and Ron wondered why his two friends had never told him about their plans and if these so-called visions/dreams were true.

Ron was the first to speak. "Er—what happened after that?"

Harry started again. "I found a crawlspace and it led to a weird opening...walls that slanted up the cell toward the very top of Hogwarts, reaching out to the night...."

And his memories continued again. Hermione had a small shock when Harry related to them that the trapdoor opened into the room next to Snape's. When he got to the strange vision he had, he skipped it, not sure why. Then, he told them about the elixir Snape conjured up, and about Dumbledore. 

"Ron?" Harry asked, in the middle of his "story".

"Yeah?"

"Did you see anything strange when you were out with the headmaster? Anything...darkish at all?"

"Well... if you mean literally—yes I did. It was nighttime...." Ron stopped, seeing Hermione's and Harry's faces. "I was joking!" Ron quickly explained. Then, "No, nothing. He just told me I could go when he finished talking and I left. He stayed out though...." 

Harry nodded. "Anyway, I came back."

Hermione was tapping her fingers on her knee, thinking. "So..." she said softly, "you tripped on a weird stone that was sticking out of the ground and ignored it?"

"I was trying to get—"

"Hold on, let me finish." She made sure Harry and Ron had nodded before she continued. "Then...you find a passageway out of the Chamber of Secrets that leads to a cell with towering walls and two holes at the top?"—Harry nodded—"You keep going, and get to a trapdoor that leads out to a dungeon...one by Snape's classroom. You find the door to Snape's classroom and enter right when Snape and McGonagall come in. You follow them.... Is that about right?"

Harry nodded again.

Hermione's eyebrows drew closer as she frowned. "Let me see the Marauder's map."

Harry hesitated. "I didn't bring it...." he said. 

Hermione shrugged. "Well, then...go get it!"

Harry looked at Ron in bewilderment as he got up. His friend was as baffled as he was.

Harry was gone: he went up the stairs. Ron turned to Hermione. "What are you getting at?" he asked.

Hermione attempted a smile. She couldn't manage it. "You'll see," she whispered.

Harry came back holding the map, which was rolled up. "Okay," he said. "What's wrong?"

Hermione took the map in her hands. "This has all the secret passageway's in the school, right?" They nodded and she continued. "Did you ever see the passageways that you found today, Harry? Did you ever see them on the map?"

Harry knew what she was getting at. "Let me see the map," he said.

She opened it up and peered at it. Then, she laid it on the table. 

The passageways were not on it.

Ron breathed out. "So, what does this mean?"

"Do the secret passageways have some kind of magical force that keeps it out of the map?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said.

Then, suddenly, ink rose up from within the map where the tunnels were supposed to be, forming them. It looked as if they were always there.

"Am I hallucinating?" Hermione asked.

"No. They _definitely_ were not there before...." 

Hermione shook her head, unnerved. She closed her eyes to think clearly, but the images from her nightmare surfaced again. She blinked and looked at her two friends who were absorbed in the map; they hadn't spotted her odd behavior. 

"Oh, wow...." Harry said. "I don't know what to think.... How could this happen?"

Hermione shrugged. "Don't ask me...."

They all pondered the question referring to the map for awhile. Then, Hermione spoke up again.

"Okay, back to the thing about the chamber. I just brought up the thing with the map because I found it weird...but we can figure it out later."

Ron nodded. "So, you heard some weird whispering in the Secret Tunnel?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, '_Come and go, as you may, but the Cavern of Souls_ _shall always stay_....'"

His two friends looked nervously around.

"Was it a snake?" Hermione asked.

"No, it was surely English. But it was spoken really soft...like a secret or something."

"But then... it got louder, after speaking something else? Try to remember what it said."

Harry frowned, trying to remember straight. "She.... It was a girl's voice...someone around our age I think."

"So, it wasn't your mum?" Hermione wondered.

"No, couldn't have been."

Ron said, "So, what were the words?"

"Um... '_The future is cold like ice and_'...something about sacrifice and love.... Before that it had said something like, '_What lies in front of you eyes is_ _true_'...something, something, something.... Then it also told me some '_sacrifice of the past_' and '_one cannot go on until one learns to forget_'," Harry finished. 

Ron was clearly confused while Hermione was thinking hard.

I've never heard about a Cavern of Souls...." she said. 

"Neither have I," Ron and Harry said at the same time. They grinned at each other. 

Hermione was twisting her hair. "You saw Hogwarts crumble, right?" she asked.

"Yes," Harry replied.

Hermione felt cold. She shivered. _Should I tell them about my dream—nightmare?_

"Hermione? Are you alright?"

She nodded her head. "Fine.... I'm fine. Just a bit tired...."

"I think we all are," Ron admitted, submitting to a yawn. "Let's all go to bed."

"Yeah...." Hermione tried to give a sleepy smile to them. "I guess we should."

Harry nodded, getting to his feet slowly. 

But then, Hermione asked, "Harry? Did the disembodied voice say anything about the truth?"

Harry thought then said, "Yeah, I guess. Something like: '_what lies in front_ _of you is true_'—I said that already but, hold on. I think the rest is like—'_but can be changed by none other than you_'. That's it! I'm pretty sure...." He shrugged. "Perhaps you will understand it better than me."

Hermione nodded. Harry took the Marauder's map in his hands as Ron got up. Hermione smiled and said goodnight to her two friends, then went to her dormitory.

While lying in bed, Hermione thought about what Harry had said and her nightmare. The resemblance in them was uncanny.

__

Is it true? Can it be true? Hogwarts crumbling, us running.... _Why'd I_ _have that nightmare_..._and what's more_.... _Can I change it?_

Hermione pushed those thoughts out of her mind, trying to get a good night's rest although she knew that would be impossible for her to accomplish.

The last thought stayed with her no matter what she did to forget it all. 

__

Can I change it? Can I?

And while she drifted in between the realms of sleep and awake...she thought someone whispered to her....

***

All three of them slept in late the next day. They didn't have to wake up and definitely chose not to. When they finally did open their eyes and drag themselves out of bed...it was lunchtime. 

Yawning and groaning, Ron and Harry absentmindedly put on their clothes and got ready for lunch. They met Hermione, who looked just as tired as them, and went down together. 

Everyone was already there, jabbering loudly about Halloween. 

"Oh, my gosh!" Hermione yelled. "I forgot that Halloween is in two days!"

"It is?" Ron asked, half-awake.

"Must be," Harry answered, yawning.

The trio made their way to Gryffindor table and sat down. They ate their lunches quietly, dumbly staring at everyone around them. 

After lunch, they all felt more energetic. At least...they only yawned once in awhile...not constantly.

"Let's go by the lake to talk," Hermione said.

The boys stared at her. 

Hermione rolled her eyes. She stiffly whispered, "We don't want anyone hearing about the Secret Tunnel do we? Or that Dumbledore's—"

"Yeah," Ron interrupted. "Okay. Lead the way, Hermione."

They walked out of Hogwarts and down to the lake. It was a clear, nice day. The sun shone brightly on them as they exited the castle and no cloud was in sight. A light breeze made the temperature cooler while leaves rusted on the trees around them.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron found a place to sit under the shade of a tree nearby the lake. Once comfortable, they began to discuss the topic they talked about before.

"Hmm.... Maybe we could look up books about the Cavern of Souls and things related to unwakable sleep," Hermione suggested.

"Do you think the library might have something on that?" Harry asked.

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure. I wouldn't know where to look...and it hasn't said anything in the books I've read...."

"Are there any books that you _haven't_ read, Hermione?" Ron joked.

"Of course there are," she said dryly. Turning back to Harry, she said, "We can always check."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. Then, he added, "Why don't we go back and check the site again. Maybe we'll find something."

Harry stared at Ron and stiffly shook his head. "No."

"Well...maybe you missed something. You were in a hurry and everything...." Ron said.

"No!" Harry replied once again. 

"Well, why not?" Hermione asked, a thoughtful look on her face. 

Harry grimaced, wondering why he didn't want to check up on the scene again. "Er...well...why would we even want to go back, and when? Those are two very important variables—"

"We can think up on those later," Hermione stopped him. "There isn't a real big reason why we shouldn't go...is there?" she asked softly.

Harry glared at her. "We'd be crazy to go back—"

"You, Harry. Remember...Hermione and I haven't even set foot in the chamber," Ron interrupted. "And we'd be going for a reason. We wouldn't be crazy...."

"But—"

"Then, I think that we should all investigate," Hermione said sternly.

Harry groaned. "I still don't see why...." 

He thought back about the night before. Many strange things had happened...and he wasn't sure if he wanted to face them again. Also...the incident in the Secret Tunnel was fresh in his mind....

"Fine!" He agreed finally, not even sure why he agreed. "When shall we go?"

Hermione thought.

"You see?" Harry said. "Now, the things that I mentioned before come in and everything...."

"Be quiet, Harry," Hermione snapped. "How about Tuesday? Halloween?"

Ron put on a skeptical look. "Why Halloween? There's a feast."

"Exactly. Think about it. Everyone's going to be there at night and I doubt they'll suspect anything if we left. There's so many students...I don't think they'd even see."

"That can backfire on us, Hermione," Harry said. "What if someone does see us? Won't they suspect something weird is going on?"

Hermione shrugged. "I guess we have to risk that. On all the other nights...our schoolmates will be in the Gryffindor Common Room. We would have a harder time to sneak out then.... Plus, everyone will think we went to sleep when they get back...if we aren't back yet."

Ron frowned. "Hermione...are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. No one will know—"

Suddenly, from behind them, a soft voice cut Hermione off: "Know what?"

The three friends jumped and looked behind themselves. A small blond girl with unnaturally white skin looked at them through pale, green/blue eyes.

"Hi, Andeline.... What're you doing here?" Hermione asked. Her voice trailed off as she looked in the girl's eyes.

"I saw you leave...and came out to see what you were doing," she said simply...but just as soft.

"Have you been spying on us?" Ron asked angrily.

"I only heard 'no one will know' something."

"Perhaps you should keep your nose out of other people's businesses!" Ron yelled.

Andeline's calm stare at them made Ron uncomfortable...so he scowled. She cast her eyes down. Then, the corners of her lips curved a little into a small smile; her eyes raised again solemnly, not matching the action of her lips as her piercing stare sent chills up Harry's back. 

"I guess I'll go now...." she whispered, looking at the ground again; smile gone.

A breeze brushed her hair back like flowing silk when she turned and walked slowly back toward the school. 

A period of silence fell upon the trio as they watched Andeline go with a questioning glance.

Finally, Hermione said, "She creeps me out."

Harry and Ron turned around, facing the lake once more. 

"Why?" Harry questioned.

"'Cause she stares at everyone...strangely. I can't describe it. Don't you get chills when she looks at you?"

Harry nodded. "Very odd eyes...."

Ron shrugged. "She needs to learn to mind her own business though...." he said dryly, temper back.

"Ron," Hermione replied, exasperated, "she's only eleven."

"First year.... Gryffindor?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Plus...she doesn't have any friends," Hermione said, obviously still arguing with Ron.

Harry looked back again. He didn't really think that she'd still be out of the school...but she was standing by the entrance. Andeline had a sorrowful look upon her face, light hair blowing around her pale face. For a second, Harry mistook her for a ghost. 

Shivering, Harry turned back to his two arguing friends. He had a squirming feeling in his stomach...like there was something wrong: something going on that he didn't know about....

He was dimly aware of Hermione saying, "Actually, no one talks to her. It's frightening. They don't even look at her: notice that she exists. She always acts solemn. She always watches me in the halls...." Hermione rubbed her forehead uncomfortably.

"So," Ron said, "she's in Gryffindor?"

Hermione nodded.

"That's strange. I don't remember her getting sorted."

Hermione scoffed. "That's because you don't pay attention—wait. I don't remember either...."

Ron put on a 'I told you so' look; Hermione giggled.

Harry sighed. "So...we stay with this plan that we have for going back?"

His two friends nodded.

***

Excitement built up as Halloween neared. Hagrid had grown extremely large pumpkins as usual, and they were carved into jackallanterns for the feast. More decorations were also put up in the Great Hall.

Nothing else was different in the two days that followed except that Harry received a letter from Sirius. With Hermione and Ron, Harry wrote about what was going on in Hogwarts...everything that they had found out and Hedwig was sent out again, carrying the reply.

Harry watched his snowy owl fly into the sky where the sun was setting. Hermione pulled him aside. "I think that we should go to the feast and then sneak away so that they see us first," she said.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"So they see us and won't think we're sick or something...."

"Okay. Alright," Harry said.

Tuesday went by quickly because Harry didn't have any classes with Snape. He had Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Charms.

In Herbology, they had been repotting Ickleshires: small, green plants that made you itch if you touched them. Nonetheless...they were used in medicine and considered very valuable.

Hagrid had been very joyful because the hippogriffs were due in a few days. So, the students spent their class preparing proper food and shelter for the newborns. 

In Charms they had started to learn the charm to disorient giants. Harry highly suspected this to be training in case of an attack. Havoc reigned in the classroom when those who succeeded in performing the spell shot the jet of aqua light far too near their classmates on accident. Many spent their class time dodging spells.

Before the feast...the students went up to the dormitory to "tidy up". Harry slipped the invisibility cloak in his pocket once again—for their "visit" to the chamber.

Then, Ron, Hermione, and Harry made their way down to the Great Hall.

It was an amazing sight. The bats—which were live—fluttered around excitedly while spider webs hung endlessly around. The carved pumpkins shone with an eerie orange glow, illuminating the walls and casting strange shadows as ghosts and skeletons entertained the arriving students.

"Wow!" Some first years were apparently marveling at the scene.

Harry grinned. The first time that he had been to a Halloween feast, Professor Quirrel had let in a mountain troll.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat down at Gryffindor table, waiting for Hermione to make up her mind about when to leave.

Harry turned and saw Vetil at the end of the table. He looked happy enough, and Harry was glad the feisty first year was not coming to bother them. But then, he spotted trouble as some Slytherins made their way toward him. 

Harry tapped Hermione's shoulder. "Looks like Pansy's going to distress Vetil over there."

"Huh? Why?"

Ron, who had heard, looked over. "Uh-oh."

"Come on. Let's go see what the trouble is...." Hermione said, looking suspiciously at the Slytherins who had scowls on their faces.

They got up and walked over.

"Vetil, come on," Harry urged.

But the Slytherins had arrived.

Pansy crossed her arms and glared at the Gryffindors. "Where's that little blond girl who was in the Slytherin Dormitory today?" she asked poisonously.

They all stared at Vetil. "I saw you socializing with her today. How'd she get in? And why was she saying all that weird stuff?" Pansy questioned again.

"Andeline?" Harry voiced his thoughts on accident.

"It doesn't concern you, Potter," she spat. "I don't care who she is...I just need to know what she meant."  
"What'd she say?" Ron asked.

"She was saying a lot of crazy things about death and everything!" Pansy snapped. She turned on Ron. "And she mentioned you!"

"Me?" Ron chuckled. "I think you're touched in the head...."

Harry was looking at the other Slytherins. They obviously didn't know what Pansy meant.

"Filthy Gryffindors," Pansy sneered. "Just stay on your side of this school...." she said viciously.

"You can't tell us what to—" Ron started.

"Ron." Hermione pulled him aside. "Leave it. They're going."

The group of Slytherins smirked and left, walking back toward their own table.

Ron rolled his eyes. 

Harry, bewildered, turned back to tell his friends that the Slytherins had no idea what Pansy was saying when something cold brushed against his arm. He turned just in time to see Andeline fade into the crowd.

***

"You warned her?" Vetil asked Andeline softly outside of the Great Hall.

"What's wrong with that?"

"I don't think that's right...."

"It doesn't matter. She didn't listen."

Vetil sighed. "You knew that it could not be changed...yet you told her...when she could see you?"

Andeline nodded. "Maybe it could've. I don't know. I don't work the future...or any time."

"Andeline...you know that the times cannot be changed by us. Only the chosen can...and unfortunately...we do not know who they are."

Andeline nodded. She and Vetil entered the Great Hall (although she didn't plan to stay any longer) again and to the girl...it seemed that the night would be full of misery.

***

Hermione, Ron, and Harry left after the incident with the Slytherins. As they exited the Great Hall, Harry pulled out the invisibility cloak and fanned it over all three of them...checking that their shoes were covered. Then, slowly and silently, they made their way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"What if Myrtle's there?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Er...we can talk to her really fast?" Harry suggested stupidly. 

Ron shook his head. "If we just insult her...she'll leave."

"But, Ron! That's cruel! And we'll make her cry! She'll flood the bathroom again!" Hermione squealed.

Ron shrugged. "Then...we can tell her we're in a hurry."

All three of them agreed to that and the subject once again fell on the strange white stone outside of the Secret Tunnel.

"So...are you sure it doesn't look evil?" 

"Yes! It looked more angelic than evil!"

"Okay...because if it's bad...we should go and get a teacher or something," Hermione added.

"I'm sure it's not a Dark stone, even if I'm not sure what it is."

Silence fell upon them as they made their way down a first floor corridor. The door to the girls' bathroom came in sight and they quietly slipped in.

***

Andeline watched the three of then go down the hallway as they put on an invisibility cloak. She sighed. 

__

They know not of the danger they're in....

Andeline looked around the dimly lit corridor. She would follow them. They could not get into harms way.

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall came out of the Great Hall. She ran past Andeline without a look towards the dungeons.

Andeline stared at the professor's leaving figure. Then, the whispering gathered around her, closing in.

__

Stop! She thought. _I'm doing the best I can! I will not let our future have perished in vain! Trust me! _

The whispering abruptly stopped. The girl looked behind her, then around the dark halls. Andeline turned and walked down the hallway' a strange light around her, her blond hair fluttering ghostly behind her.

***

"Myrtle?" Harry asked nervously.

A ghost of a plump girl with glasses floated out.

"What?" she asked coldly.

Ron sighed. He muttered in Harry's ear: "Why'd she have to be here?"

"Hi, Myrtle," Hermione said sheepishly. "We came to see you...."

"You're lying," the ghost said.

"Yeah! We are! We're in a hurry so don't bother us! Go back to haunting your toilet or something!" Ron said sharply.

Harry and Hermione looked angrily at Ron who shrugged. 

Abruptly, Myrtle's eyes started to fill.

"No! No! Myrtle!" Hermione tried vainly to make the ghost feel better but Myrtle bawled and disappeared through a wall into her haunted stall.

Hermione turned to glare at Ron. "You lost your temper!" she whispered shrilly.

Ron mouthed "sorry", raising his shoulders in a shrug.

Harry motioned them toward the sink. There was nothing to do about Myrtle now. Perhaps they could apologize later. 

As they went toward it, Harry eyes the tap on which the snake was carved. He hissed, "Open...." when they had gotten to it.

Ron looked bored (he had seen this happen before) while Hermione watched open mouthed in amazement.

The pipe was revealed and all Hermione did was stare at it.

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

She blinked. "Oh! Yeah! What now?"

Ron stepped toward the opening. "We go in."

"Don't worry. You slide down somewhere under the school; there aren't any Devil's Snares down there," Harry reassured her. 

Hermione nodded.

"Okay. I'll go first," Harry added.

He got in and slid into the darkness. Ron followed closely. Hermione hesitated a moment, then she also entered.

"_Lumos_," they all whispered at the bottom. The ends of their wands flickered on.

They walked forward holding the wands above their heads to see more in front of them. After a period of silence...they came across the wall of rocks.

"Here...go through the hole...."

The trio quickly squeezed through the opening. They stared at the ongoing tunnel. Nodding to each other...they ventured on.

"Are we almost there?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded just as the wall of the Chamber came into view. The entrance to the chamber stood before them.

Harry walked forward. He saw the jewel-eyed snakes and stared intently at them. They looked real enough.

"Open...." Harry hissed in parseltounge.

There was a familiar rumbling as the wall parted, revealing the Chamber of Secrets. Only Harry had been this far before.

Ron and Hermione both stepped forward cautiously. They gaped at the chamber; both looking equally surprised with awe.

Harry almost smiled, but in the light of what was happening...he simply stepped in. Ron and Hermione followed.

"Welcome to the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said dryly.

A/N: Sorry it took so long. It'll make sense in the end...hopefully. If this is a bit confusing—moving too fast—tell me. I try to slow it down some...but it's kind of hard. I'll try to do better...I promise! Please review. 


	10. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

A/N: Sorry it took so long. It's been awhile since I've had time to get on the internet or type. I apologize once more. Thank you to whomever have reviewed the story so far. Please continue in doing so.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DEATH

It seemed to take hours before Ron and Hermione got over their shock. When they finally did, Harry warily led them deeper into the Chamber of Secrets. His two friends' eyes were darting back and forth in the dim light in awe and question.

Suddenly, Ron wrinkled up his nose. "What's that smell?"

Hermione sniffed the air and recoiled, putting her hand up to her mouth. "Really. What happened?" she breathed.

"It's the Basilisk...dead," Harry reported.

Hermione nodded and asked, "Where's the staircase?" as the statue of Salazar Slytherin fell in view.

Ron hoarsely said, "I don't care as long as we get away from this odor."

Harry laughed a little as they hurried to the base of the statue. His eyes quickly found the gem that sparkled in the torchlight. 

"Is this it?" Hermione asked, fingering the gem.

Harry nodded and looked at the small serpent. Shadows seemed to make it dance.

"Open...." he hissed softly.

Hermione turned to look at the staircase in wonder, her mouth open with amazement. She ducked a bit to stare into the space that had appeared in front of her.

Ron nudged her a little. "You can gape at it inside...."

She looked up at him, eyes full of annoyance, but she followed him into the hole. Harry came in after them.

"Um, I guess I'll go up the stairs first," he said when they looked at him expectantly. 

Harry glanced backward to the chamber as he took his first step onto the staircase. Ron and Hermione hurried after him.

They went up into the darkness and Ron asked, "Where does this go?"

"To the mouth of the statue," Harry replied.

The glow from their wands illuminated the walls and faded as shadows overthrew light. Harry turned many times to make sure Ron and Hermione were behind him, although he knew they weren't anywhere else.

The time it took to reach the top seemed shorter than before. Harry thought that it was because he knew what to expect and fear wasn't keeping him back. 

As the steps rise leveled out, Hermione abruptly asked to see the table near the corner.

Harry held his wand up high and stepped into the statue's mouth. He looked around, spotting the gleaming glass.

"Over here." 

He led them to it and Hermione took on a look of deep concentration. She peered into the glass and frowned.

"Well, I guess the gem was here...." she said.

Harry nodded. "That snake said that it was."

Hermione continued to look at the table, creases forming on her forehead as her frown deepened. Harry watched her squint at whatever she found amusing as Ron walked over, looking around.

"Okay. Now that we've seen the marvelous table with glass...shan't we go on?" he said in a mocking voice.

Hermione stood straight and glared at him.

"What?" Ron asked, holding up his hands to show that he was only joking. "I was just going to ask Harry where the entrance to the tunnel was."

Hermione nodded and sighed. "Where is it?"

Harry could already sense that he was going to regret this night. He stiffly showed them where the two snakes carved onto the cream-colored wall. 

"Here," he said, pointing at the jewels.

Ron and Hermione studied it a little, Ron prodding at the jewels. "Strange-looking," he remarked.

Harry shrugged and Hermione backed away from the wall, looking up. "Shall we go now?" she asked, still staring into the void.

"Alright," Harry replied, turning to face the walls. He could feel his friends stiffen a little out of anxiety.

"Open...." came out as a hiss in parseltounge.

Harry barely made himself heard over the rumbling that abruptly started after his word of command. "Brace yourselves!" he yelled.

Hermione and Ron nodded and made for a part in the room that was not opening. Harry stumbled and crouched down near the ground. He was amazed to find that his teeth were shaking with the quakes. 

Looking up, he and his friends saw the tunnel appear before them slowly. Their amazement was short-lived as the rumbling filled their bones.

Finally, the quakes subsided. They walked a bit stiffly on they shaken-up legs but the three friends made their way to the tunnel. Ron and Hermione craned their necks as they looked up, squinting into the darkness that overwhelmed the light. 

They looked back down and Ron suggested going in.

"Just what I was thinking," Hermione muttered sarcastically. The sarcasm felt strangely wrong in that place, so Hermione fell silent and followed Harry, who was walking into the darkness.

***

Andeline went slowly into the statue's mouth after Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She stood in the shadows as they entered the Secret Tunnel. Soon, the dark void obscured them from view.

__

The Secret Tunnel holds the truth, someone whispered.

Andeline shifted her gaze to where she thought the sound had originated to find that nothing was there, nothing but darkness.

__

And yet, the darkness holds a lot...she thought to herself.

Drawing in her breath, the girl quickly followed the trio.

At once, when Andeline entered, a familiarity struck her. A presence of something she knew....

Hurrying on after a wary glance, Andeline went deeper into the darkness. Subtly, a wind crept up behind her. She slowed a bit, hairs on her neck prickling. Then, a burst of strong wind blew and she stopped. There was more to this tunnel...much more....

Andeline took a step forward, eyeing the surroundings. Her walk quickened as her eyes darted around. But the only things she could see were three points of light in the darkness in front of her. It was the light from Harry, Hermione and Ron's wands. 

But still...the girl felt strange.

__

Is there evil here? Andeline questioned.

A light breeze brushed onto her face.

__

No...she thought again. _There is no evil here_.... _The something here is shrouded._

She hurried on, thoughts still running through her head, but she tried not to allow herself to think about them.

But suddenly, she stopped. Something was there...something that was watching. She twisted to stare around, but she saw nothing. Her hands clenched together, fingers cold.

As she turned straight ahead again, a flash in the darkness flared in front of her eyes. Andeline gasped, a part of her wanting to back away from the sudden images, but part of her also wanted to stay.

__

The truth.... 

The whisper entered her ear softly, but it embedded itself in her thoughts.

Andeline could not blink. Her eyes intently focused on the images that presented themselves to her. 

"No...." she said hoarsely. "It can't be...."

***

Harry, Hermione, and Ron walked farther down the dark, damp tunnel. They were all very silent which became unnerving. But Harry was glad that nothing strange was happening.

After walking about twenty minutes, Ron spoke up.

"Harry? How long do we have to walk?" he asked impatiently. "My feet hurt!"

"Same with mine," Hermione put in.

"We're like...I dunno.... Almost there?"

Ron and Hermione stared at him and stopped in their tracks.

"You mean...you don't know how long it's going to take? Seamus, Dean, or— heck! —even Neville might notice we're gone!" Ron said loudly.

Harry looked at them. "It was you guys who wanted to come! I would've preferred not to!"

Ron scowled. "Well, it would've been smart of you to remember how long this would take!"

"If you were in my position...you wouldn't have remembered things like that either!"

"Why? Because of all of those images? Because of your mum?"

"Ron!" Hermione said sharply. She looked at the both of them. "What's gotten into you two?"

Ron sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Harry. I just wonder what'll happen if we're gone too long."

Harry nodded.

Silence fell on them once more. Harry found himself looking at his shoes sometimes, but he occasionally glanced at Ron and Hermione. His redheaded friend looked annoyed while Hermione looked uncomfortable.

After another ten or fifteen minutes, they came upon the next wall.

"Finally," Harry heard Ron mutter. Hermione sighed in relief.

Harry stared up at the snakes.

"Wow. The gems are different here," Hermione said.

Harry nodded, concentration broken. He turned to look at them again. "Before I forget," he informed them, "the vibrations here aren't as violent."

His two friends nodded.

Harry turned back to the jewel-eyed serpents once more.

"Open...." he hissed.

The rumbling followed as the walls parted again. All three of them managed to keep their balance, not even stumbling.

"Oh...." Hermione breathed as she stepped out into the moonlight. "So, these are the mountains by Hogwarts?"

Her eyes followed the outline of mountains from land to sky. 

"Er...I think," Harry replied.

She seemed content with that as she stared with wonder at the rest of the surroundings.

Ron scratched his head. "Where's the stone?" he asked.

"Over there," Harry said, looking in the direction where he guessed the stone was.

"Show us. Hermione?"

"What?" she turned to look at the boys. "Oh, yes. The stone."

Harry directed them to where he had tripped. 

"Er...yeah! Here!"

They hurriedly crouched by it. 

Hermione commented, "That's strange." 

She reached out to touch it, then thought better of it and stuck out her wand. She tapped it lightly.

"Hermione! There's nothing wrong with it!" Ron said, leaning towards it for a better look.

His shoulder hit her back and Hermione fell forward, touching the stone with bare fingers.

A small gasp escaped between parted lips and her body seized up. Her wand fell from her hand as her eyes suddenly dilated. She seemed to be seeing something, but nothing was there.

"Hermione? Hermione!" Harry asked, panicking.

He looked into her eyes, dimly aware of Ron's questions. Her mouth was open in horror or amazement, Harry was unsure. His eyes bore into hers...and he saw something made his insides churn. Her eyes showed her emotions that had reached a level of fright that scared him. She stared right at him...yet she did not see him.

"Hermione!"

Harry reached out to grasp her hand. A strong tingling sensation filled his arm and she jerked violently when his touch met hers.

Flash!

Redness filled the ground...flowing. What was it? Blood?

__

Hermione?

He could feel her presence, yet...he could not find her. She was somewhere far away...yet, she was right next to him.

Fog hid his view as he squinted into the opaque colors that swirled and blended. It reached out to him, enveloping him. Its cold feeling crept up his spine. The icy air felt as if it had volume that weighed him down.

A rumbling sound rippled through the fog as something large appeared. An image that was hidden behind velvety darkness rose out of the ground. Darkness inside the cave drew nearer. Red, cold, and frightening, Voldemort's stare bore into him.

__

Tension.... Horror....

He felt something that resembled fright claw up through him. He could feel a heartbeat pulse faster and faster...a scream that ripped through the throat it was unable to get out. But the heartbeat and scream were not his.

__

Let go of the stone.

"NO!" someone yelled, the sound rippling through his bones. An explosion filled the air as Hogwarts fell. Running feet sounded in his ears, echoing throughout his mind in headaches.

__

Hermione!

He traveled although he was not moving, falling backwards into the unknown. 

He searched for his friend in the shadows and the cold, bitter mist. She was lost as he, nearer but still beyond his finding. 

Something loomed out of the darkness as he fell. The mist opened as he neared the barrier, seeing it. A marble wall stood above him.

A deep trembling filled the air around him. The marble doors parted ever so slowly. He fell towards its opening walls, unable to pull away. The black inside greeted him as the doors closed.

Everything spun into darkness.

His hands ached with cuts and bruises. The soreness tore at him, but they were not his hands as he stared down at them.

__

Oh, God. Harry!

But the thought was not his.

__

Hermione? 

He tried to grasp where she was.

__

Let go of the stone. Let go of the stone. LET GO!

Up ahead. He saw her.

A graveyard....

She stood there in the coming light, her gray dress whispering in the cold wind. Her hair reflected burnt umber and cedar where the sun's rays hit them, bouncing off. Her hands had dust in their clutches, and she threw them up into the calling wind, specs of gray floating upward into the sky. And whispers went with them to the heavens.

__

Hermione!

Harry ran the distance between them. Horror flowed up his veins...horror that was not his. And sorrow went with it, sorrow with regret and pain. 

__

Hermione!

And suddenly he saw the tombstone that she stood in front of. He saw it as if he were standing right next to her. It only lasted a millisecond but it scared him in that time.

H-A-R-R-Y P-O-T-T-E-R

But Harry was back where he had been, running the distance. And he kept running. 

He drew up to Hermione and his hand clasped hers firmly. She turned and her ember eyes looked into his. 

Flash!

Their eyes were still locked as the world filled with white light and everything shattered.

Suddenly, a word rang out toward them.

__

"Treachery!"

Hermione screamed.

And they fell...fell into a darkness that lost them.

Pain filled Harry's head as he blinked out the lights that obscured his vision. He winced as he sat up on the ground by the white stone. His eyes cleared enough to see Ron who had a look of utter bewilderment on his face.

Hermione groaned and sat up.

Harry looked at her...then at their linked hands.

She stopped short, stared at him, and let go of his hand.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry asked. He massaged the hand that had held hers. It tingled and stung.

She nodded, but he could see that she was tense with fright.

"Did you see—" Harry started.

She looked up at him and he saw the answer in her eyes. 

He clenched his hand and unclenched it involuntarily. Ron still looked at them in question.

"W-what happened?" Harry asked Ron.

He blinked. "I dunno. You held her hand and went into this trance. Your eyes dilated and you were seeing something. I know you were, even if you weren't seeing me. You kept muttering 'Hermione' while she kept muttering a number of things. Then, your eyes went back to normal and she screamed." Ron paused. "The rock flashed and you two literally flew into the air. I thought you broke your neck or something...."

Harry looked at where he was compared to the rock: several feet away. Seeing this, he put a hand up to his aching head.

Hermione had her eyes on the ground. Her gaze was bright.

"Er...." Ron said. "Did anything happen?"

Harry shook his head distantly.

__

The images...what were they?

A cool breeze swept onto his face and he blinked. 

"Are you two sure you're okay?" Ron asked again. "Do I need to get you to the Hospital Wing or something?"

"No," Harry said, getting onto his feet. 

His gaze landed on the stone. It looked brighter than it had.

"We should get back. We have class tomorrow," Hermione whispered. She stood up, but her gaze didn't leave the ground. Instead, her eyes shifted to the stone that Harry had looked at.

"Okay...." Ron said slowly. He raised an eyebrow at Harry. He shrugged.

"Didn't find anything...did we," Ron said absently. "Okay. I wouldn't know where to look."

He glanced at Harry one more time and turned to walk slowly back toward the tunnel. Questions ran through his head at light speed.

Hermione and Harry followed him after a brief hesitation. As they dragged on, Harry met Hermione's gaze.

"Treachery?" he mouthed without sound.

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked down in reply.

He saw that she was trembling. It wasn't cold so she was not shaking because of that.

Hermione looked at her feet. She felt herself shaking, her pulse beating. What had those images meant? How did Harry also see them? What was that stone? 

She felt cold all over. But suddenly, warmth slid into her right hand as Harry took it, and she looked up into his small smile. 

***

Andeline backed up, biting her lip.

"No.... They died in a fire!"

The image flashed up again.

__

Only the truth is revealed in the tunnel. 

"Stop!" Andeline yelled.

Why was this happening to her? She never did anything. This wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"No, no, no!" she yelled again, backing up further. She looked around desperately.

There was a crack like a whip and laughter rang out from all around her. Andeline gritted her teeth.

__

I have to be strong.... I have to be strong for Mummy and Daddy!

There was a red flash and fire stood in front of Andeline, the very fire that had perished four souls.

__

Vetil...she thought desperately. _Help me!_

The fire crackled. Screams rang out from inside the flames. They were trapped...trapped in the midst of death.

Andeline closed her eyes and covered her ears. She bit down on her teeth harder to keep from screaming.

__

I'm not the strong one.... I was never the strong one! Why? Why does it have to be me?

The girl let out a dry sob. She understood...but it was painful. She had finally grasped what had happened that fiery night. Tears streamed down her face as she looked into the deep flames once more.

__

I will avenge your deaths. I will not let them have been for nothing.

Andeline's fear and sadness suddenly turned to hate so hot that it matched the flames flickering in front of her. The reflection of the fire danced in her eyes as a bright aura of power flashed around her.

There was a crack and the wood of the burning house splintered. The roof collapsed inward and the lives that lived there gave one final cry of help.

"I understand...." Andeline whispered.

She suddenly didn't feel anything at all. The hatred melted away...leaving emptiness, painful emptiness.... There was no confusion, no anger, no fear.

__

I will be strong. I will not fail you.... 

The fire turned sky-blue and slowly diminished. Andeline closed her eyes. She fell to her knees and looked at the floor. Her tears were already dry.

__

One will die and two will live,

But the life given will change the future....

Andeline looked up. She slowly stood on her feet, shifted and walked back toward the statue's mouth. All was forgotten about Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

__

Your deaths will not have been in vain....

***

They entered the Secret Tunnel once again. Harry stood back and hissed "close" in parseltounge.

The rumbling came but they stumbled on blindly until they had the sense to say, "_Lumos_". 

Hermione had quietly comforted in the minutes that passed. Her pulse slowed and her trembling subsided. Harry let go of her hand when she was calmed; Ron hadn't noticed anything.

They walked on, rarely saying anything. If any was spoken, it was usually Ron asking if they were okay. All he got in answer was a small nod from his two friends.

They reached the statue mouth again. It had seemed faster because their minds had all been thinking of different things. The questions had reduced the aches in their tiring feet.

Harry turned around. "Close...."

The violent shakes followed. All three of them crouched as Harry had done so before; they were too tired to look for support.

The silence grew as they left the statue's mouth. The only interruption for some time was Harry's "close" to the secret staircase.

They were once again in the Secret Tunnel...but Ron and Hermione's amusement had worn off.

"Where's the crawlspace?" Ron asked.

Harry motioned them toward the opening. "Here."

They all looked uncertainly at him. "Um...."

"It's okay! I'll go first. Nothing bites in there...."

"Alright...." Ron said slowly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on."

They kneeled down and entered the darkness of the crawlspace.

***

Vetil awoke with a start. 

"What?" he muttered.

The boy stared around his dormitory. The others were all asleep.

But he felt that something was wrong. Someone had woken him.

"Andeline!" Vetil hissed.

She was in the shadows by his bed, fingering the bead on the string around her neck. She looked guiltily at him.

"What're you doing? This is a boys' dormitory!"

"I'm sorry," Andeline muttered. She hesitated. "I...I know what happened that night...."

Vetil knew what she meant by _that night_.

"How?"

"The Secret Tunnel...." Andeline whispered.

Vetil stared openmouthed at her. "Only a parselmouth can get in there! You aren't a parselmouth last time I checked!"

Andeline shifted nervously. "I followed Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Harry's a parselmouth."

"They're—"

"I tried, Vetil! I really did! But I just can't!"

"So...you didn't follow them out of the tunnel?"

"No...." Andeline murmured. She looked blankly at him. "But, I found the truth, Vetil. I know what happened."

***

The trio looked up in wonder at the sloping walls.

"It's just like you said and more...." Hermione remarked in awe.

Harry squinted up at the openings into the sky. He still didn't know what that was for.

Ron looked down and shook his head to get the tenseness out of his neck. Harry did the same, but Hermione still looked up at the two openings.

"They look familiar...." she whispered.

"Hermione?" Ron asked.

She looked down. "They do."

"Well then...what is it? I can't make anything out of it...."

She shrugged. "I said it looks familiar...but I don't know what it is."

Harry nodded and turned his attention to the snake that was molded out of the wall. Strangely, the snake seemed to smile at him....

"Open...."

As it did the last time...the wall slid upward. It revealed the continuing crawlspace.

Ron groaned.

"It'll get pretty steep," Harry warned.

Hermione and Ron nodded.

The three entered the crawlspace with one last glance upward into the sky.

They had been going for some time when Ron said, "It is steep...and slippery too. My hands feel so clumsy."

Harry laughed at that.

They continued upward until it slowly leveled out. 

"Near here...." Harry said. "The trapdoor's over there somewhere."

They crouched in the narrow space and Harry reached to touch the wood of the trapdoor above him.

"Yeah. It's here."

He hoped that it wouldn't be stingy as it had the last time...but when he gave it a push, it swung upward with a crunch of wood against floor, but not all the way up.

"Noisy!" Ron hissed in Harry's ear.

Harry nodded with gritted teeth.

The trapdoor did not make a sound the rest of its way up. It thudded softly on the dust, particles flying into Harry's nose. He sustained a cough.

Ron and Hermione crawled out after him. They squinted in the darkness.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"May I ask how you saw anything in here?" Hermione questioned.

"I dunno. I just did. Guess I got lucky."

He suspected that she was looking at him skeptically, but he let it pass. 

"The door to Snape's room is over there."

Ron took the trapdoor and slowly put it down. He marveled at the way the wood blended with the stone.

"How's that possible?" Ron asked.

"Don't ask me!" Harry said.

Hermione had already blindly made herself across the room to the door. She waited patiently for the two boys to catch up.

Harry groped for the doorknob and found it. He was about to twist it when the door was yanked out of his hands.

Professor McGonagall stood on the other side of the door. She looked angry and horrified at the same time.

"What're you doing?" she asked in a hard voice.

Harry, Ron and Hermione shrank away, wishing they were invisible.

"Get in here!" the professor yelled.

They scrambled into Snape's old Potions class.

She slammed the door and leaned on it for support. Weariness showed through her anger.

"How could you...."

"Professor?" Hermione squeaked.

"Granger," Professor McGonagall said with a shake of her head. "You three wandering on a night especially like this one! How could you? Did you not hear my announcement for everyone to stay in their common rooms?"

"What's wrong?" Harry asked without a second thought.

Professor McGonagall looked at him and the rest of them. "You haven't heard?"

They shook their heads.

The professor sighed and massaged her forehead. "Pansy Parkinson was found dead in the Slytherin Common room...."

__


	11. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE LIFE OF ANOTHER

The professor ushered Harry, Ron, and Hermione back to the Gryffindor Common Room in silence. They weren't even punished, only given a sigh as they went in.

Hermione looked sick, like she was going to faint. Ron was in shock, his eyes wide in a gape. Harry watched them quietly.

__

This can't be happening. It can't be.... How could she have just died...like that!

Although he had always disliked her, Harry had never wanted Pansy to die. He had never wanted anyone to die.... This was the first death Hogwarts had seen in fifty years. 

Hermione took in a deep breath to calm herself. She closed her eyes and opened them, looking terribly pale. Ron was biting his lip and then wetting it, as if wanting to talk, but nothing came.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, not directing it at one of them in particular...but both of them.

"Fine...." Ron muttered.

Hermione hesitated. "I think that I am going up to bed now...." she whispered. She looked to see that they had heard her before getting up from her chair and making her way to the girls' dorm.

__

She died.... And no one knows how....

Hermione shuddered.

__

I saw....

***

Vetil stared open-mouthed at Andeline. His throat felt parched, moisture gone from it. 

"That's the truth?" he rasped.

"Yes...." Andeline whispered, as soft as a breeze.

Vetil looked away from her, directing his gaze at the floor.

Andeline trembled. Then she added, "You know...things will happen. I am sure. But...how can we prevent it?"

Vetil shook his head. "One will die? Who?"

"One of the three...." Andeline said softly with a shrug. But Vetil only saw her mouth the words. She said them too quietly to hear.

"Talk louder, Andeline. I can't hear you."

"There's nothing to say. When tragedy strikes...it will be over. Nothing will matter anymore...."

"Don't talk that way! You can't predict the future!"

Andeline interrupted in a hushed tone that seemed to cut through his words in their silence. "Somebody can...."

"What?" Vetil shouted, biting off the word so that it ended with a sudden snap.

Justin and Andrew stirred from across the room.

"Andeline..." Vetil said, lowering his voice with a wary glance at the two boys across the room, "you'd better leave. And what do you mean by someone can?" he asked, turning toward her again. "Someone in this school?"

The girl nodded.

"Who?"

"I dunno.... But someone can...." she muttered.

Vetil looked harder at Andeline through the velvety darkness that obscured her from his total view. She faced him; her mouth set in a determined line and quickly walked toward him.

The moonlight streamed into the room from the window. As the mystical light hit Andeline's face when she walked into it, Vetil saw her bright eyes.

Andeline grabbed his hands, not harshly, but hastily. She bit her lip and put something into his palm.

"No, Andeline! Do you want to die?"

"One cannot die when they're practically there!" she said in a louder, firmer voice. Then she added, "Give it...as you have to. Please.... I must...."

"No...." Vetil groaned, jumping from his bed and thrusting the object back into her palms. "Wear it.... We are here for a reason, Andeline. For the Light. And there's nothing you can possibly do right now! It would be useless if you gave up you life for nothing!"

Her hands trembled and she clutched the bead tightly in her hands. Then, in a harsh, soft tone, she said, "They didn't die for nothing.... They were killed, murdered by the Dark! I cannot stand here and watch their deaths go in vain!"

Andeline gave one last look at Vetil, throwing the bead on a necklace onto the floor with a clatter. 

"Andeline!"

But she had fled out of the room.

***

Harry dreaded the dawn. He had stayed up most of the night, unsure if he were dreaming or not.

__

Dreams.... Powerful tools that worked in your mind...either for or against....

The absence of the other boys' calm breathing—sometimes snores—made Harry feel uneasy. He knew that they too, were awake.

Sometimes in the middle of the night, Harry thought that he heard Neville whimper softly. But throughout the might...he had heard many things. Was his imagination playing tricks on him?

But the dreaded dawn came...as it must. It was part of time...the inevitable force that no one could stop, threading its way around lives, bending and twisting as a pattern in the making; unstoppable as the spinning of the earth.

Groans escaped the mouths of the boys as they reluctantly got out of bed.

"Harry?" Ron asked, coming to him.

"Hmm?"

"It's time to go down to breakfast," Ron said.

Harry sighed deeply and stood up, Ron eyeing him.

"I wonder how she died?" he said.

"Me too...." Ron answered, pulling him along. "Come on. I think that Professor McGonagall is going to say something this morning."

They slowly made their way down the stairs to the common room and out into the corridors. Then, they went to the Great Hall.

There was a hushed silence over the students in the chamber, and the two boys made their way uneasily to the Gryffindor table. They seated themselves on either side of Hermione and looked at their food grimly.

Harry picked at his meal, not really eating it, and he noticed many of the other students acting the same way.

Hermione had her face buried in _The Many Phases of the Moon and Their Meanings. _Her food lying beyond the book was unnoticed.

"What's so interesting about that book?" Ron asked. His voice rang strangely into the muffled room.

Hermione didn't answer. She just flipped a page and read on.

Ron sighed.

Then, Professor McGonagall stood up. She looked around the Great Hall, which quickly silenced, before solemnly starting to speak.

"As you have heard...a sixth year Slytherin girl was found dead in their common room last night."

No one moved. Silence seemed to buzz, even though that was impossible.

The professor continued.

"I ask that anyone who has information on this case to step forward."

There was a subtle whisper that traveled through the crowd. 

"What's going to happen to her?" someone asked above the mumbling.

The professor sighed. "Her parents have been notified. They are coming today for her."

Another ripple of whispers passed through the body of students.

"What's Dumbledore going to do?" another voice asked.

Harry felt Hermione stiffen beside him, and Ron's eyes suddenly widened once more. He too felt a great apprehension. Was she going to tell them?

"The headmaster...is in no condition to handle this," the professor said with a twitch in her mouth. Professor Snape glanced at her fiercely, but she ignored it.

A louder rush of words passed through the kids. "What's wrong with him?"

Silence.

Harry looked over to Hermione. She had closed her book and merely stared with glazed eyes at the cover.

The professor drew in her breath slowly. Then, she started hesitantly to speak.

__

Don't say it! Harry thought. _No! It's going to cause confusion and havoc!_

But the professor whispered, "They have a right to know...." in a soft voice before saying, "He is in a not awakening sleep. A sort of coma that...is unknown to us."

Just as Harry expected, the room erupted with frightened voices.

"What?"

"How could that happen?"

"Was it You-Know-Who?"

"Are we still safe?"

"What's going to happen to Hogwarts?"

Professor Snape stood up. "Silence!" he yelled. 

The noise abruptly stopped. Harry saw a few first years wiggle nervously. Among them was Vetil, looking a bit more unenthusiastic than usual.

Harry's eye caught the boy's hands. One was stiff in his lap, but the other was clutched tightly around something. It scared Harry suddenly more than anything to see Vetil looking so unhappy.

__

He's usually such a hyper kid...so full of energy. What happened?

Suddenly, Harry spotted Andeline standing by the entrance, looking paler than usual. She watched the students ruefully. 

There was a sudden rush from the end of the Gryffindor table as Vetil jumped out of his seat and ran toward Andeline. She saw him and turned swiftly out of the exit.

"Andeline!"

Heads turned in Vetil's direction, watching him run with suspicious eyes. Harry scrambled out of his seat, following Vetil out of the Great Hall while Ron called his name.

He ran out of the doors and stumbled while turning. "Ah!"

Harry righted himself and sprinted after the leaving figure of Vetil some hundred yards in front of him.

"Vetil!" he called.

Vetil didn't stop at the sound of Harry's voice. For once, he wanted to be left alone.

__

Where's Andeline?

He ran down a long corridor.

__

She must be at the end of this hallway....

But Vetil came up to the turning point and stared down the dark stairs. Andeline was no where in sight.

***

Andeline's tears streamed down her face rapidly, blurring her vision and making her stumble into the walls and down the stairs. Or was that caused by the pain in her?

She choked down a sob, biting her lip and ran faster. Suddenly she hit a pillar with her left shoulder, painful fire racing up the wounded arm.

Andeline let out a cry and stopped, grasping the pillar that had caused her so much pain for support. Her body shook violently and her legs trembled like jell. She let herself slide down onto the cold floor, grasping the stone and scraping her fingernails on it, hurting her hands. 

__

I'm losing myself.... It won't be long now....

Andeline took insecure breaths, closing her eyes and tried to calm down. 

__

Why? Why?

Those two words echoed in her head painfully; the question that would never be answered...could never be answered. And something tore at her.

Her hands stopped their grating. A peaceful void filled her.

__

Not much longer.... Now....

Everything went black.

***

Harry caught up with Vetil who was staring at the corridors as if he had just lost his hope...his life.

"Vetil?"

He turned and looked at Harry with the same large eyes as the first time he had seen him.... But now...the eyes were filled with loss instead of curiosity. For a second, Vetil looked almost...not living.

Then he said, "Why?"

That simple word.... That one word could ask it all.

In his voice, Harry heard fear, sadness, and a trace of hurt. It was the song of a lone wolf in the night...a cry so harrowing it made him shiver.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

Vetil hesitated. Then: "Yes, but Harry? Help me find her. I have to give her something.... Please."

Harry nodded and followed Vetil down the still hall. He paused suddenly.

"Hold on! Vetil! The Marauder's Map!"

"What?"

"Hold on! I got the very thing to help us locate anyone on Hogwarts' grounds!"

Instead of looking hopeful, Vetil looked frightened.

"Oh, Harry.... I don't...I don't think—"

Harry was puzzled. "What do you mean? It can locate anyone on the grounds."

"But...."

"Oh, gosh! Come on!" Harry grabbed Vetil's wrist to steer him toward Gryffindor Tower, but he let go abruptly. Vetil felt cold...ice cold....

"A-are you...sick?" Harry asked.

"No."

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He bit his lip in consideration. "Well," he said with a shrug. "Come on."

Vetil reluctantly followed Harry back toward Gryffindor Tower. After walking up and down some corridors, they came up to the portrait of the fat lady.

"Sand-shells," Harry muttered.

The picture swung open and the boys entered. Then, they made their way up to the sixth year boys' dorms, and Harry quickly dug through his trunk, locating the map. 

"Here it is!" Harry smiled to himself. Now, they could solve Vetil's problem.

He quickly scanned the page. Most of the students were in the Great Hall, including Ron and Hermione. 

Then, Harry's smile faded. He looked at the map again. Not only was Andeline not on it, neither was Vetil, who was standing right behind him.

***

Ron looked at the exiting students. He told Hermione to come, and she followed, only after he threatened, "You'll be late for class."

They hurried through the crowd, looking for Harry while going to their classes.

"Um...Transfiguration is first," Hermione muttered.

"Harry'd better not be late for that...." Ron taunted. He quickly silenced under Hermione's glare.

They blended in with the crowd that flowed through the hallways like water in a riverbed.

They got to the Transfiguration classroom...and Harry was not there.

"Where is he?" Ron asked impatiently to Hermione.

She answered, "He'll be here." And Ron gave her a skeptical look.

They sat down, leaving a seat for Harry.

"Wonder what we'll be doing in class today...." he voiced into the silence.

Hermione shrugged and opened her book to read.

Professor McGonagall came in a few minutes after all the students (except Harry) arrived. She looked around the murmuring group and they fell silent, staring hopefully at the professor.

She sighed.

No one seemed to move, not even breathe. They were all anticipating their teacher's words with anxiety.

Finally, the professor spoke: "Take out your notes."

No one moved. They sat in shocked silence, staring up at the professor.

Suddenly, and outburst of questions swarmed the room, as if all the students had recovered from their shock at the same time...floodgates opening.

"But, professor!"

"How can we?"

"Study? At a time like this?"

"Quiet," Professor McGonagall said.

No one listened. The questions continued to stream out of the students' mouths.

"Is Dumbledore really—"

"How about our safety?"

"We can't do work!"

"How about our school?"

"SILENCE!" the professor shouted in an outrage. She slammed her books onto the teacher's desk.

BANG!

Everyone stopped what they were doing, shocked at her madness. They stared up at the professor and saw that her lips were tight in a grimace. Her brows were furrowed in a look of anger. She was as still as the rest of her class, as still as stone.

Professor McGonagall took in a deep breath, followed closely by the students as they watched her.

She opened her mouth. "We have to keep our studies. That is the only reason why Hogwarts is still up. We must still knowledge you. Nothing of real harm has been done."

After these last words, silence once again fell upon them. All eyes were upon the professor, asking for further explanation.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Harry ran into the class. He abruptly stopped and recoiled from the stares that bore into him.

He opened his mouth to explain but was interrupted by the professor. 

"Potter...you are late."

"Er—"

"That is not acceptable."

"Professor! I was helping—"

She sighed and Harry's voice trailed off into the silence. "Take a seat, Potter."

He stood, frozen to the spot. "Y-you're...." Harry stammered. Then, he hastily made his way to Ron and Hermione, surprised that he had escaped punishment.

"What—" Ron started.

"Shh!" Harry hissed.

Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the class and again repeated, "Take out your notes." She added, "...and a quill."

In the noise of the rush to find a quill and their notes, Hermione whispered to Harry. "Where were you? What were you doing?"

"Yeah," Ron accompanied her.

Harry opened his mouth, but the rustling was dying down and Professor McGonagall seemed to be looking right at him. So he hurriedly said, "I'll tell you later."

They nodded and returned their attention to their assignment.

***

Vetil ran down more corridors, into the very bottom of Hogwarts, into darkness....

"Andeline!" he hissed urgently, trying to locate her.

__

Time is running out! Cursed time! Where is she?

Vetil gritted his teeth in frustration. _Andeline! _He thought again. His thoughts whipped into the nothingness in front of him.

__

She should be able to hear me! He thought urgently. _Andeline!_

Vetil stumbled. He groaned and continued, faintly aware of the growing stitch at his side. He cried out in frustration.

Suddenly, footsteps came from beyond his vision, running toward him. Vetil gasped and closed his eyes, backing up into the wall.

Just then, a torch shone and Professor Snape ran down the hall, looking furious.

__

Don't be seen.... Do not be seen. Hide yourself.... Vetil thought urgently.

The footsteps drew closer, grew louder.

__

Do not be seen....

A strange cold sensation ran up his arms and legs and he bit his lip. The cold ice flowed through his veins.

Professor Snape stopped and looked back. Had he seen...? No. He was in a hurry and had to move on.

The footsteps died away and Vetil opened his eyes. A faint trace of the ice was all that was left. He looked around and quickly ran on.

__

Come on...come on.... Andeline!

Suddenly, Vetil came to a staircase leading down. He stared at the bottom and made out a pale figure sprawled on the floor. 


	12. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

A/N: I'm so, so sorry that this has taken so long. I would've put this up way, WAY before if I had the time, but the last few months have been very busy and March was just hectic. I really, really apologize and I hope you aren't very mad. I'll try to put them up faster. If I could, I would put one chapter up every week, but school is pretty tight. So, I apologize again and I guess I'll say sorry beforehand just in case this happens again. I really hope it won't, and I really hope you forgive me. 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

VISIONS AND NAMES

"Never!" Ron yelled. "Never have we had this much homework, due so soon as well!" 

He made a sound of frustration and frowned as Hermione spoke: "Come on, Ron." She sounded sympathetic as the three of them ate. "It's not that much. Plus, we have--what?--two days to do it."

Harry and Ron stared at Hermione with mouths wide open. "How can you say that?" Harry asked, promptly cut off with Ron's remark: "Two days is not a lot of time for then inches of parchment for Transfiguration, eight inches for Charms, and eleven for Defense Against Dark Arts!"

"Yeah Hermione," Harry said. "How much have you done?"

Hermione put on a look of thought while she answered, "I have five inches done for Transfiguration…I'm done with the Charms essay…and…I need three more inches for Defense Against Dark Arts." A smile formed on her face when she was done talking while Ron groaned off to her side.

The two boys eyed Hermione with awe mixed with a touch of resentment. Ron started to glower as he said, "It's only dinnertime, Hermione! How did you that much work?"

"I work fast," she answered, looking at her two friends. "How much have you done?"

They started to talk hesitantly as Hermione watched them intently. Over the time, her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed.

Harry muttered, "Two inches for Transfiguration done…three done for Charms…and one done for Defense Against Dark Arts," growing nervous as her eyebrows climbed even higher.

Ron said, "Three done for Transfiguration, two for Charms, and none for defense Against Dark Arts," and scowled as he received a look from Hermione.

She frowned. "You two really have got to work harder." 

"Yeah, yeah," Harry and Ron muttered in unison.

Hermione nodded, almost sarcastically and asked, "Are you done eating?" The two boys nodded at her and followed their other friend out of the Great Hall, distinctly hearing, "At least you two can finish something in a short time."

Ron smirked as the trio walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room. 

***

Andeline felt drowsy in the pitch-blackness that seemed to move around her, but she was already asleep. Was she?

__

Darkness…

Her hand reached out. Not even her fingertips were visible to her. She would not have believed she was even there if she did not feel herself, vague…but there nonetheless.

Unexpectedly, a bright flash emitted from the darkness. Andeline cried out and shut her eyes from the bright, stabbing white that illuminated the scene. But from around her, another's voice rang out. 

"No!!!" 

Andeline shuddered. She knew that voice…. 

The light faded as quickly as it came and the girl was plunged back into sheer night.

"No…." The same person.

Andeline whirled about, trying to find the origin of the familiar voice. She tried to call out…but nothing came from her tight throat. The darkness pressed around her….

""You can't…." The girl again, answered by yet another familiar voice of a boy: "It's okay…."

__

Where am I, Andeline thought. _Why am I hearing this?_

"Remember…." 

There was a loud rumble/crash as something immensely large slammed shut together. And it was echoed by the girl's anguished cry, "Nooo!!!" that chilled Andeline to the bones.

__

Why's she so upset…? 

Her sobs seemed to be drifting from far away…reverberating in the younger's ears. They were filled with emotions racking with pain and hurt…. Gradually…the cries faded, drifted off into the distance…and they were replaced by images that floated, dissolving from the darkness, toward Andeline, accompanied by sounds.

"Evacuation!"

Screams and cries came from the flood of students panicking; running in every direction, only to be stopped.

__

They're trapped…No where to go…

Then Andeline turned, seeing Harry Potter calling to them, waving his hands in a direction. "This way! I know a way out!"

The image swirled around toward the middle, misshaping the people inside them, and dispersed. Andeline watched apprehensively.

__

What's happening? Why an evacuation?

A fire suddenly blazed from the darkness, but not the same fire the blonde girl had seen in the Secret Tunnel…. This one was fire with a touch of green and the house aflame had two floors…unlike the one storied house burning seen before. 

Then, a cackling voice rose around her, surrounding her in its dark mirth and evil. Andeline's hands went to her ears impulsively, trying desperately to block out the sound.

"No…" she whispered. The voice was recognizable…and easily placed…. 

"_Morsmordre_!"

The Dark Mark soared up high with its greenish taint, like stars that glowed with a menacing darkness and vileness. The mark inscribed itself over the burning house in the sky, followed by screams of horror.

The image diminished, only blackness remained…but the reeking mark blazed in Andeline's mind…the screams echoed, calling, crying….

The two voices from the start spoke once more.

"Why?" the girl whispered, voice light, touched with helpless pain.

"I've known for awhile that this would happen…. It's okay…."

"No…." The voice was soft…softer than the lightest breeze, the most carefully placed whisper.

"Love is a powerful thing…. I'll always be with you…."

A soft sound of weeping came toward Andeline, accompanied with an image:

__

Hands…raw and bruised…stained with blood…

And the very same hands held a very perfect, beautiful white flower. Except the hands were not scarred…. They were fine…an accompaniment to the mystical petals…a touch of magic in itself.

__

What does this mean? Andeline questioned again.

"Remember…." The word echoed throughout the darkness…seemingly to remind someone of the meaning…._Remember_….

Her hand reached up once more, drifting almost in the darkness, extended toward the image…the soft flower. It's elegance stood out, almost real….

Suddenly, the hands released the flower and the image expanded so that Andeline now saw, for the briefest moment, a girl with curly brown hair turn, her mouth open…. And the petals fell, each releasing from the flower…falling into the infinite darkness…growing darker…and wilting…the white perfection turned into a dull brown…dead black….

Andeline's hand withdrew with a gasp as the place surrounding her glowed red…a vile red…the red of blood. Multiple screams cut through the sky, ringing in the Andeline's ears. And infinitely, she screamed as well….

An explosion of rubble blew out, chaos running high. The blast was so strong that Andeline felt herself being pushed with the force…. Her hair whipped around her, her cloak flapping. The explosion was deafening. And fire sprang up around Andeline…fire from the explosion…fire from the past…present…and future….

Andeline no longer knew where the cries were coming from…she no longer knew reality and insanity…or if she was even present in the havoc. The reddishness pressed…heat…fire…death…. And she fell in the redness that stretched on to eternity…. Only redness…only redness…. Only…redness….

"Ahh!" Andeline sat upright in her bed, covers falling from her. Her shoulders shook involuntarily, shivers passing up her spine. Her breaths came short…as if she had just run forever…. 

When the girl registered where she was and she calmed just the tiniest bit…she thought, _How'd I get here?_

A quick touch of her neck answered her question. The beaded necklace was once more there, growing warm. 

__

Vetil….

Her hand stayed there for a long while until her breaths regained their normal pattern…but something out of place was felt. The collar of her shirt had gone too warm…and it spread, felt like liquid. She quickly raised her hand. In the dim light, she could see blood on her right index fingertip, where something had cut her. A glance at her shirt backed up that information: the shirt was stained with blood. Andeline looked down at her bed. The bed sheet had a small pool of red where her hand had rested. Uncertainly…her eyes followed a thin line trail of blood that ran up white walls to one of her bedposts.

She gasped.

Something was on the post in red with small stains around it. Looking closer, Andeline saw writing and a very accurate drawing of the Dark Mark…. A roar sounded in her ears as her breaths ran short once more. She read the words:

__

One of the following shall fall victim to the Dark Lord.

Andeline read on, and unable to contain herself, made a vague noise close to a scream. 

"Oh…no…"

On her bedpost, written under the dark Mark and the words, were three names. The blood they were written in was still wet, dripping down. Andeline closed her eyes, her left hand over her mouth, but the names of those people filled her head.

__

Harry Potter

Ron Weasley

Hermione Granger

***

"So…" Ron said, eyeing Harry.

"So…what?" Harry asked. 

"So! What where did you go before Transfiguration that made you late?" Hermione yelled.

"Shh!" 

She sighed. "Sorry."

Harry frowned at her for a moment before starting. "Well, I saw Andeline in the great Hall…."

Ron muttered indistinctly.

"…And Vetil ran after her. I followed them, and offered to help Vetil find her."

"The Marauder's Map!" Hermione said.

"I'm getting there," Harry groaned. He paused before continuing. "Yeah. I thought of that…but Vetil didn't seem very fond of the idea…. I went back to the dormitories with Vetil anyway."

"So…where was she?" Ron questioned. "You should've found her easily, unless she had fled Hogwarts' grounds." 

"That's the weirdest part…. Andeline was not on the map…and neither was Vetil."

There was an uneasy silence.

"But…" Hermione said hesitantly, "he was right behind you."

"Exactly," Harry said, shrugging.

Another thoughtful silence overtook the three, but none could figure out why the two first years had not appeared on the map. They finally asked Harry to continue on.

"Well…I was on my way to getting my Transfiguration materials, but I noticed that Vetil had dropped something. It was a necklace of some sort…a transparent string with only one bead on it. The bead was round but flat, with a small silver dragon inside the glass and a real dragon scale next to the figure."

"And that is…?" Ron asked.

"I dunno…but it looked valuable, so I went to find Vetil, to give it back to him."

Hermione and Ron nodded.

"It took a long time to find him. When I did find him, he was in a hurry, so I just gave it to him before he ran off down another corridor. By the time I got to the Transfiguration classroom…I was late."

"So, Vetil was in a hurry. What's wrong with him, running around the castle looking for Andeline during class? He could've found her at dinner."

Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I guess it was more important to him even that class."

The three paused, thinking of that comment. School and learning were almost the only things important to the first year boy….

***

Ron lay awake in his bed wondering if Harry was having this much trouble to fall asleep. Too many thoughts were in his head, disconcerting thoughts to meddle with and theorize until there was no more to think about. 

Finally, after however many minutes or hours, Ron drifted off into sleep.

The dream began almost instantly. He saw from a pair of eyes that were not his…and he was unable to control the body he rested in. From these sets of eyes, it was day: the sun was shining, casting shadows across the ground from the trees above. Suddenly, his vision was moving; the person he saw from was traveling toward the Hogwart's lake. Apparently, he was seeing from inside the Forbidden Forest, not quite in its depths, but far enough that others on the other side of the trees would not be able to easily spot him. 

Quite unexpectedly, Ron saw himself, Harry, and Hermione top a low hill toward the lake and seat themselves beside it. The three of them began to talk, too far away to be heard clearly.

Ron's mind raced from where he lay. _How can I be here and there at the same time?_

But before he could answer that, he saw something else that took thought as well. From his set of eyes, Ron saw the three by the lake suddenly spin around to confront something. But nothing stood where they looked.

__

Andeline…but, where is she?

The blonde haired girl was no where in sight. But apparently, the three sitting by the lake saw her. They seemed to be arguing at someone, but only thin air….

The eyes he looked at were moving once more; the person was running through the forest, closer to the lake. Ron saw himself--the one by the lake--arguing with Hermione. Harry then cut in and said something.

The scene slowly turned dark; the three students vanished; it was night. Ron still saw from the same set of eyes, almost at the exact same place…in the trees. The body moved and Ron saw the hand raise with an extended wand. The hand…. It was not his own…. Instead of the healthy color of humans, this hand was stark white, thin as bone….

A harsh whisper escaped the owner's mouth and a silver light emitted from the outstretched wand. Ron watched in horror as the light traveled directly at the school, and saw as it passed through the outer walls into the building. A bright flash came from within the castle, illuminating even the tree leaves all the way where Ron stood, and surprised screams echoed through the halls, reverberating the walls.

Ron sat up with a yell. 

His eyes snapped up; Harry stood over him, face white. "H-Harry? What's wrong?" Ron's voice shook.

Harry stepped back as Ron put his legs over the bed and stood up. He fingered his glasses nervously. "There was some kind of explosion of light that went throughout the school. You didn't see it?"

Ron put a hand to his forehead. "I saw it…." His face looked of confusion etched with fear.

"Ron…Ron? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," the other stammered, looking round the dorm. All the boys were up, staring at him. "It woke everyone?"

Harry gave a weak shrug, turning to look around at the others. "Perhaps…." He paused. "I think the best thing to do right now is to go down to the Common Room. Maybe a teacher will come and inform us more…"

As soon as he spoke, the 6th year boys streamed toward the door, still too shocked to speak. They hurried down the stairs toward the light below.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione squealed as the boys came down the stairs. She ran up to them. "You're okay! What happened? The flash--"

The lights flickered and went out. Some first years cried out in alarm. 

Harry yelled as something ran into him and he fell. Pain filled the left side of his head and he seemed to see stars even in the darkness, but an image of two red eyes flickered in front of him for less than a second before it shifted into a mirror of himself. Except, his eyes were open in amazement as sparks emitted from an opened hand….

Ron grabbed Harry and pulled him to his feet. The lights had flashed back on after a few seconds.

"Wh-what?" Harry asked, blinking. His hand went instinctly to his head.

"Neville ran into you," Ron said, "and you tripped. I think you hit your head on something. Are you alright?"

Harry nodded and opened his mouth to speak just as the intercom came on with Professor McGonagall's stern voice: "All students stay in your Common Room. Someone will go there shortly. Stay clam; don't panic." And it was off. 

"Easy for her to say…" Ron muttered.

The Gryffindor Common Room was plenty full with all the students. They clustered together protectively, mostly the smaller ones who still jumped at the slightest sound with wide eyes.

Finally, after about a quarter of an hour, Professor McGonagall came into the room looking tired and aggravated. She told the students that everything was under control and for them to go back to sleep. She wouldn't say any more; she left after those few words.

They all left the Common room, slowly. But none could sleep when they got to their dormitory, so they all lay awake in silence.

Ron tried to sleep once more, although he was not sure if he wanted to. He would close his eyes, but immediately, they would open once more.

__

Why did I see that? Was it a message? 

He lifted his head to stretch his neck, which felt as stiff as a board, but a glimmer caught his eye. He sat up and looked more closely. 

Ron gasped. 

A piece of glass was lying on his bed. It's reflection of the little light there was had caused the glimmer. He gently picked it up, examining it carefully. It must've come from a mirror because he could see some of his reflection in the small piece of reflective crystal. But, he wondered why there would be a broken mirror piece lying on his bed. 

Ron put the piece down on his covers and he shifted to get out of bed once more, but something stopped him in his tracks. Something was reflected on the mirror, something from the top of his bed. Something was scratched on it, and as Ron stared more closely, he saw that it was something horrible. Recoiling with wide eyes, he threw off his covers and the glass piece. Quickly, he stood up, pulse racing.

Two words had been inscribed on top of where he slept. Ron recognized the first as his own name, but barely. Several scratch marks had been placed on top of the name so that it was almost impossible to read.

It was the word underneath his own name that made his blood run cold with nothing more than fear. 

Ron

Voldemort


	13. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The next day was filled with questions, starting when everyone awoke. The dormitories buzzed with voices of loud and soft. Eyes wandered warily towards others. Harry lay in his bed, eyes closed.

Harry was vaguely aware of Neville's panicky voice asking, "What happened last night? How come there was a flash?"

Seamus answered, "No one knows. Maybe Professor McGonagall will tell us this morning…."

Harry opened his eyes and blinked several times, trying to rid of the sleep that seemed to want to seal his eyes shut. He was very tired due to the fact that none of them had fallen asleep hastily the night before.

Ron in particular looked the drowsiest. His eyelids kept drooping, and when he managed to keep them open, Harry noticed that his eyes were red. Ron nearly fell asleep in the Great Hall, waking millimeters before falling flat into the eggs. 

"Ron! Gosh! You must be s-s-sleepy!" Hermione said while yawning. 

Ron mumbled inaudibly and put his head on his arms in a lethargic fashion.

"I think we're all tired," Harry said, looking around at the other students whom all seemed more sluggish than usual. Hermione just nodded at his remark. 

Professor McGonagall stood up slowly just then and all eyes made their way towards her.

Hermione whispered to Harry: "She has to speak again. I sympathize her." He just murmured a reply.

The professor began to speak. "We are not sure what the light last night was. We are not positive that they are signs of dark activity. All of you should remain calm. Nothing fatal happened yesterday…."

The students shifted and spoke among one another until one shouted, "How about Pansy Parkinson's death?"

Harry could see lines of weariness on the professor's face that he had never noticed before. She sighed and began to speak once more after a pause. "We do not know if that is associated with the white light."

Instantly, there was an uproar. All words were lost in the rumble of the crowd though. The professor waved for silence. No one saw or cared. They ignored the silencing motion and continued to talk or shout, horror contained in their words. 

Harry looked around the Gryffindor table and saw that Hermione was staring at the teachers, her mouth slightly open as if she was going to speak and had forgotten what she wanted to say. Ron had fallen asleep on the table, which struck Harry oddly because the noise was terribly loud. His eyes followed the trail of yelling students to the end of the table and saw Vetil and Andeline seated there. The first year girl was carefully holding her right hand, particularly her index finger. Her eyes looked up and turned to meet his. In that brief instant Harry saw something like regret in them before she swiftly turned away to look in the other direction. It was in such an instant that Harry wondered if he'd imagined meeting her eyes.

BOOM!! CRASH!!

Harry jumped and quickly looked up at the professor. McGonagall had shot off two very large and loud sparks.

Ron's head snapped up and his eyes quickly opened as he said, "What happened?"

After that remark, none made a sound. It was as if everyone was frozen in time, everything save the smoke form the professor's wand that traveled slowly and disappeared. No one moved, fidgeted or (it seemed like) breathe. 

Finally Professor McGonagall spoke. "Go to your classes. Those things cannot ruin what you are here for: education."

There was a pause before a quick shuffling set in place. Everyone hurried out of the Great Hall. Hermione, Harry, and Ron entered the flow of students leaving the Hall and the hurried to their first class: Defense Against Dark Arts. 

All the students entered quietly, which was abnormal, for even the Slytherins did as well. They all sat down in their seats and took out their quills and parchment. 

Professor Snape entered with his usual bad temper, probably enhanced by the stress on the teachers, and immediately began to take off points. "Ten points off Gryffindor, Longbottom! No notes!" 

There was a quick rustling as everyone hurried to put their notes away, but not quick enough. 

"Another ten points off Gryffindor! Ten off Slytherin!"

Everyone froze in confusion and awe. Snape had taken points off his own house? Harry wondered if he was so mad he'd gone crazy.

"What are you looking at?" Snape yelled furiously. "We are having a quiz today!"

Hermione gasped and almost toppled out of her seat. Harry strongly suspected she was scanning her memory to see when this quiz had been scheduled. 

"P-professor?" Hermione asked warily.

The professor menacingly spun toward her and yelled, "What, Granger?"

She shrank back in her seat and bit her lip, muttering, "Y-you didn't tell us that there was a test today…"

"Of course not!" Snape snarled. "It is a _pop_-quiz! I do not tell you when I schedule a _pop_-quiz because it is a _surprise_ test!"

An uncomfortable shuffling filled the silence as students shifted nervously, only to be stopped by Snape's roar of: "Be quiet! All of you!" It seemed impossible, but to Harry, his classmates seemed to recoil even more from the professor.

After a period when all Snape did was glare at each and every one of them who dared to move, he began to hand out the quiz papers. Harry looked at Ron, who didn't seem as confused as he was. Ron was jotting down answers rapidly, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Harry found this very amusing because Ron and he were never the best of students. 

To his right, Harry heard Hermione murmur in a frustrated sort of way. He looked at her and saw that she was thinking so hard her hands were clenched. Harry himself looked down at his own test and realized why Hermione was so upset. The questions were difficult to a limit that Harry wondered if even half the teachers here in Hogwarts had ever heard of them. They varied from:

__

How do you repel the Cruciatus curse?

To:

__

What is Shadowspell and how do you break it?

Harry had absolutely no idea of the answers to the questions, and by the subtle sounds coming from the rest of the students, no one knew either.

***

They walked slowly to Care of Magical Creatures, their next class. Hermione was in so much stress, she kept repeating, "I didn't know any of the answers! Well, maybe a few…but--oh! I'm gonna fail! I'm going to fail very badly!"

Harry didn't know what to say to her. Every time he tried to calm her, she would turn on him with questions that he could barely hear, her words traveling so fast. So, he simply shrugged and muttered, "Not worse than me…."

Ron looked at them in what could only be described as surprise. "It wasn't _that _hard…was it?" he asked.

Hermione and Harry gaped at him as he raised his eyebrows. "You mean…you didn't know the answers?"

They shook their heads, Hermione hastily saying, "Only some, but did you know what the Veritasfern Curse was?"

"The Veritasfern?" Harry wondered aloud. "I forgot about that one, there were so many I didn't know…"

Ron nodded. "Yeah. It's the truth seeing curse."

Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "But, why is seeing the truth a curse? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well…" Ron said, "not exactly. One cursed will die in a short period of days, probably a week. It isn't exactly what you'd say a curse for the truth. The one who will die sees something in the future--I believe that it is always of dark times and such--a few minutes before passing away. That's the truth they talk about…but of course, it isn't exactly what you'd want as a price for a viewing, right?"

Hermione and Harry were immobile from shock and it took them a few seconds to realize the question Ron had asked them. They quickly nodded, saying, "Yeah, of course. Yeah…"

"So, can you block the curse?" Hermione asked.

Ron nodded. "I think, but probably you'd need a lot of power to. I doubt many here could."

Silence overtook them briefly as all the information ran through their heads. Something Harry had never heard of, something Hermione did not know…and Ron knew. Harry found it strange.

He suddenly remembered the Shadowspell question. "Hey Ron. Did you know what Shadowspell was?"

Hermione's face went white. "I know what it is…" she said, "but not how to break it."

Harry stared at her and she hesitated before going on. "In olden times it was planted using shadows. Yet, probably a few centuries ago, someone must've found it could be used as a spell, a curse really…curse of death." She shivered. "Well, it is gradual death as well, but only about three days of living. When the infected dies, they spread death around them in a ten mile radius, perhaps more, if the caster was strong enough. Everything dies in that area…plants, animals, humans…. It is quite upsetting, actually. I read about it in books, mostly legends. I never thought it was real. I don't think it's been used, it's so horrible. I bet it's banned."

Harry felt cold inside. All these spells associated with death. Was Snape really that concerned about what would happen if the Dark attacked? It made his blood run cold thinking of things like that. 

"I really wonder how you break it, though…" Hermione whispered.

"I know," Ron told her. Harry turned to look at his friend in amazement. "The first thing is that it will end in death, no matter what. At least one death. The person infected has to die within the three day period or all others would."

They walked on in silence for a minute. "That's terrible," Hermione said. "How come You-Know-Who or any of them haven't used it? They are evil enough…"

Ron sighed. "It _is _banned. All wands are shielded from some sorts of curses or spells. This is one of them. I believe only strongest breaking spell could destroy that bond, or else the only way to cast it is without it."

"What? Casting spells without a wand…. Is that even possible?" Harry asked, eyebrows drawn.

"It has happened in books, you know," Hermione said.

Ron replied. "Fiction."

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe all fiction is based on a small fraction of truth." She sighed. "Yet, I don't think it's possible, now."

That was something that made Harry wonder. 

***

Andeline turned her heard as she watched Harry, Ron, and Hermione enter the great Hall at lunch. 

__

If they only knew the future for one of them…

Andeline looked down at her cut finger.

__

How could I bleed?

Closing her eyes, the past dream rushed by her.

__

"United together forever…"

"I won't forget you…"

Words from the nightmare that troubled her and haunted her….

__

Thud. Pounding. Screaming. Crying.

"NOOO!"

Andeline opened her eyes quickly. She took a deep breath. She didn't want to remember what she saw. She didn't. Her hand trembled slightly as it moved up to the necklace around her neck. She clutched the bead with the small, silver statuette of a unicorn with wings and the hair off of the creature's mane. 

As she held the bead, her eyes wandered farther down the table to where Vetil stood with the three, 6th year friends. A ghost of a smile touched her lips. But it was a smile of regret, not of happiness. 

__

If only… she thought, _If only…_

There was a sudden spark of heat from her necklace as she held it. Her fingers unraveled and the necklace floated up out of her fingers, then forward. 

Someone whispered.

__

What? The girl thought in confusion. 

She couldn't make out the whispers, but she saw where the necklace was pointed: toward Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

***

"Harry?"

"Yeah, Ron?" he replied.

"Er…. Could you switch beds with me?" Ron asked.

Harry scratched his head. "Why? Is everything all right?"

Ron looked uncomfortable, but more fearful than embarrassed. "I don't like it…" And the words almost ended with a question than being an answer. 

"What's going on, Ron?"

"Oh, come on, Harry! Please?" Ron asked again without answering his question.

"Well…I guess. But I don't see why it would be uncomfortable."

Ron sighed. _It is, _he thought. _I can't sleep by the name of the Dark Lord, especially since I scraped it on there…_

He had come to the conclusion that no one else could've written the words, so he must've done it in his sleep. But he wasn't sure. Yet, for weeks, he had not been able to sleep well, even if he did or did not carve that. 

Ron groaned inwardly at himself. _Why am I so scared of that one word? Harry isn't…_

But he answered it for himself. _Because Harry didn't grow up in a family that was frightened of that single word…_

The dreams…no. The nightmares haunted Ron. He had lived vicariously through others, unable to move, only see, smell, hear, and feel…feel the fear or anger of victims, the pure evil of the attacker. Every night, he would wake up gasping, heart racing and beating so loud he wondered how the other boys could sleep through the noise. And then, he would see the word.

__

Voldemort.

Ron remembered his nightmares. No matter if he whose mind he was in, the outcome was not good. Sometimes he was hit with the _Cruciatus Curse _or _Avada Kedavra. _Sometimes he was the one who cast the spells. 

Many times he felt the pain of others and he would scream. Most of the times the scream stayed in the dream, but twice they had been loud enough in the waking world that they had woken Harry and the others who had rushed quickly to his aid. Yet, every time, his own cries would wake him up, body aching all over and mind speeding.

No matter how hard he tried to calm himself and rid himself of his dreams, it would not work. The next night, he would have another nightmare, maybe even worse than the last.

Ron learned to keep his visions a secret. He didn't want Harry or Hermione worrying about him. He had in fact been doing so well that Harry asked him if he was still troubled, yesterday. 

__

Yes, Harry. Tons of nightmares. So many that I can't count. Sometimes I even get them while I am awake…

But he had smiled and answered, "None! None at all!"

Three days ago he had been a victim. He had watched as he--the person he lived through--was hit by _Avada Kedavra_. The green light had flashed right at him and he had woken right as it hit. The next morning, he listed in horror as Hermione gasped and said, "There was another attack. A muggle boy was killed."

__

Am I just imagining these things because of the word? Will I not have the dreams now? Ron thought as he climbed into Harry's old bed. 

"Night, Harry," Ron said, getting a murmur as a reply.

It seemed that switching beds had worked. Ron fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. But just when everything seemed okay, Ron opened his eyes to a world not his own.

His eyes and ears stalked quickly through the shadows of trees by a building, others darkened and unseen around him. With sickening recognition, Ron saw that it was the Ministry's building.

Screams raged around him as they entered the building. Havoc reigned as terrified men and women ran around. But they were trapped.

An explosion burst in Ron's ears and half the building burst into flames and more cries followed it. 

__

No… Ron thought. _No…_

Dementors glided into the room, living nightmares that stalked and stole the souls of their victims, delivering the "dementor's kiss." Horror burned in Ron as he saw the devastation around him. This had to be the worst…

__

Stop! Wake up! Wake up!

The person he saw through was moving silently around the room. His eyes scanned the broken scene, and he chuckled. He laughed, a cold cackle that made Ron's inside turn to ice from fear.

__

No…

Then, his worst fear was confirmed as Percy ran out of one of the side rooms. His brother looked like a wreck already, but his wand was drawn and his eyes had anger in them as well as blazing fear. 

__

Percy! No! Run, will you! Run!

But Ron's brother whispered a word filled with horror and detest. "You…."

The cackle came once more, followed with an answer. "Yes, me…."

__

Percy! Run! RUN!

The person Ron saw through drew his wand and faced Percy who stood with his wand out in front of him. He lifted it.

__

NO! 

They both shouted as sparks flew and battle raged. Each missed and more spells were cast. The flames roared around the walls and debris fell. Still, they cursed at each other.

__

No! Percy…RUN!!! Ron thought in desperation as screams suddenly filled his mind. He frantically tried to block the sounds, but they reverberated throughout his head.

__

No. No. No! NO!

The Dark Mark flew above the flaming site, high into the night, blazing with sickening green. Laughter rang out, loud and clear.

Ron cringed. He wanted to wake up. He wanted so badly just to wake up to the real world. He would tell Harry and Hermione about the nightmares.

__

No more lies… No more! 

He stared helplessly at the mark imprinted in the sky, then at the flaming building. The structure groaned and more of it collapsed in a heap of flames.

Ron couldn't take it anymore. He wanted the horrible vision to end… He wanted the laughing to stop, his head to stop hurting. He wanted…he wanted…

__

No! Stop! I don't want to see anymore! I don't want to see this!

But nothing changed. 

__

I'm going crazy… Ron thought. _I'm insane…_

An anguished cry rang out into the night. 


	14. Harry Potter and the Crown of Eternity (...

A/N: Last time, I was going to put up an Author's note, but I uploaded my original file, the one that did not have the A/N on it. I was going to change it, but I could not get on fan fiction, so I decided to leave it. Anyways, I'm sorry about that and the time period it has taken to get this up. I know… I think I've written that on every single one of them, but still, I apologize. I also want to thank everyone who has reviewed the story. It is really encouraging when you do, and it also gives a view on what the readers think. That way, I can improve on the writing and clarify points. I know this has gotten really strange, and it is my fault because it would be easier to understand if I could put up the chapters faster--my fault, sorry!--so if you're totally lost, it's okay. I'll try to improve, and if you review the story, I'll try to answer questions that haven't been clear yet, unless it's vital to the future of the writing. So, I'm typing too much here, and I'll stop now. J 

Chapter Fifteen

Unsettling Truth

"Harry! It's awful!"

"Ron? Are you--"

"I'm not okay!" he burst out. "I'm not okay!"

"Calm down, Ron!" Harry reached out and grabbed his friend's shoulders to steady him. He was trembling uncontrollably but stopped his raving when held still.

"I had another nightmare…." Ron whispered after a pause.

"But, I thought that you didn't--"

"I LIED!" he yelled, getting worked up again. "I'm a big, fat liar!"

"It's okay…"

"No! It's not okay! I dreamed that You-Know-Who attacked the Ministry's office. All the dementors and everything were there!" He shook his head. "What if it comes true, Harry?"

"How can it come true?" Harry asked, puzzled. "Everyone gets dreams but they're never--"

Ron interrupted. "All of my nightmares…. When I dream that someone dies, they do! My dreams come true! They're _real_!"

"But--" Harry started once more, cut off again by Ron saying, "Percy was there! He was there!"

Harry didn't quite know what to say to his friend. If what he said about the dreams and deaths…. "It's okay, Ron. Maybe this nightmare was a real nightmare."

Ron closed his eyes and shook his head. "I have a bad feeling that it's not."

Harry sighed. "Well, what do you want to do?" he asked. "Do you want to report it, although if it's true, it's probably already out in the news."

Ron shrugged. "I don't know." He sighed and looked Harry in the eyes. "Am I cursed?"

The other was lost for words. What could he tell his best friend? How could he answer that question even when he was as confused as he was?

Ron turned away from him when he didn't answer. "Well, I think I'm cursed," he muttered. "I think that I am really cursed."

***

__

One of them…

Darkness. Darkness behind closed eyes. Andeline opened them.

__

One of them…

The whisper…. Andeline got up off the soft, green grass under the tree, left the shadows of the leaves and branches.

__

All of them… One of them…

Andeline walked slowly by the lake, the blue water sparkling in the sunlight, dancing and gleaming. The depths were of sapphire, the shores clear and jade. She looked at the pebbles at the bottom of the lake, showing clearly near the bank, fading away into depths farther out.

__

They can take care of themselves…she thought.

A voice whispered. _They are the Chosen…_

The blonde girl stopped dead in her tracks, suddenly intent. 

__

What?

It repeated with icy certainty, serene as the calm breeze: _They are the Chosen…_

Andeline slowly took a step forward, looking blankly at the ripples in the water flowing to the rhythm of the wind. Her faced was touched with surprise.

__

How? 

Her footsteps grew steady, quicker, faster. She strode along the water, feet away as to not fall in, but her motion was unconscious; she walked swiftly without much thought to her destination.

__

How can that be possible?

The wind blew forcefully from behind her abruptly, fanning her light hair out in front of her as she slowed and stopped her pace. Her cloak flew around her, whispering in the breeze as Andeline lifted her face to the sky, closing her eyes to the light from the sun, closing her eyes to her thoughts.

__

Three symbols…three meanings…three figures of hope…

Andeline opened her eyes, looking at the cloudless sky, turning so that the sun was not directly in her eyes. The atmosphere was tinted with blue, calm blue, light and tranquil.

__

Those three… They're so close.

Voices began to speak around her, whispers inaudible save few words. The rest were lost to the rush of the breeze or the flood of words. Andeline picked several phrases, but to no meaning. She began to walk forward again…

…and her head snapped to the right. She started. Had she seen…?

No. Not possible.

Immediately the sounds quieted around her except one voice still heard, still speaking, as if directed to her.

__

The danger had not passed… It has merely begun…

Andeline sighed. _State how to prevent it._

A cold breeze rose again, chilling her even in the warm sunlight that bathed her. She shivered and closed her eyes, listening to the wind although she knew the answer before she even asked.

__

Hope…

***

"What do you reckon we're going to do in Charms today?" Harry asked. 

Maybe…we'll be doing giants," Hermione answered, to be followed quickly by Ron's unhappy remark: "We've been doing giants for almost three months! I hope we'll do something different!"

Harry shrugged. "We can probably do giants for the whole year! I wonder if I'll ever get that charm down." 

"I think I've got it," said Hermione. 

"Really?" Ron said sourly. "I knew you would get it soon enough."

"Come on! You two must have already gotten it!" she trilled. They shook their heads. "Anywhere close?"

"Er… Sort of," Harry murmured.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's not that hard!"

"Maybe it's not that hard to you!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione scoffed and walked on. They entered the Great Hall and looked around. It was breakfast time, and for once, Harry and Ron were early; not many people were even out of bed yet. 

Ron's mind once again settled on his nightmare, the one with Percy. He was arguing silently to himself whether or not to bring the subject up when Harry helped him along with it, whispering, "Do you want to ask Hermione about you dream…er…nightmare?"

Ron shrugged. "You think she'd know any more than we do?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at his friend. Ron sighed. "Oh, yeah. Hermione _always_ knows…." he said, shaking his head.

"What about me?" Hermione asked, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, looking at her. "When are you ever going to finish that book?"

She looked up with an arched eyebrow. "I'd like to see you read it in less than a year," she said coolly. 

"Okay! It's just that you read too much!" Ron told her. 

She shook her head subtly but smiled as well. "So, is that what you two were discussing?" she asked in a voice that said her ears were all open. The two boys paused, Harry unsure what to say and Ron unsure if he wanted to tell. Hermione frowned. "Well…."

"Er…" Harry began, catching Ron's eye. 

"Hermione!" Ron interrupted suddenly. She sat back a little at his outburst. "You know about my nightmare? The ones where I'm in, like, someone else?"

She inclined her face and peered at him skeptically. "The ones that you said you weren't getting anymore?" she asked slowly.

Ron sighed. "Yeah…kind of." There was a brief hesitation and Ron carried on in the silence. "Well, do you have any idea what they are? 'Cause I've been having these really horrible ones, and they seem to be coming true." 

That seemed to catch her attention as she questioned, "In what way?" She still looked doubtful, but fearful as well. "How can dreams come true?" she asked in a small voice. Yet, it sounded as if she was considering it instead of telling Ron.

"They _have_ been," Ron explained. "I had one dream where I was the attacker. I recognized the victim though, and it was Mr. Crandler…you know?" Harry and Hermione shook their heads and Ron continued on. "You don't know him? He's dad's friend…" Ron paused, looking upset. "He _was _dad's friend." He shook his head and let out a breath. "You _didn't _know him. The next day, I found out that he had been murdered."

Harry and Hermione watched Ron apprehensively. 

"But--" Hermione started, and stopped, lost for words. She looked miserably from one friend to the other.

"They all happened like that," Ron spoke. "My nightmares, and the next day…death." He looked unnerved.

"Well," Hermione said, trying to find a reason for bizarre consciences. It _couldn't _be true? Dreams were not real….

"There is no 'well' Hermione!" Ron exclaimed. "Somehow, my mind can see what is happening from other points of view! I've even died before! Not technically, but--you know what I mean!"

All was silent except for the buzz of students coming into the Great Hall and Ron's shallow breathing. _My family…_he thought. _My friends…_

Ron looked at them, eyes showing that there was more. "I had another one…worse than all the others." Hermione sighed at that. Ron continued above her breath: "I've already told Harry…." He paused. "I saw an attack on the ministry." Hermione gasped distinctively, eyes opening a bit. "Percy was there. I don't know really what happened to him. I saw the ruins of building though, and the Dark Mark in the air."

"Percy's not…" Hermione started.

"I don't know what happened!" Ron snapped defensively. He apologized when he realized his tone of voice. Swallowing, he asked, "Are they okay?" His eyes had a tint of plead within them.

Hermione turned away from Ron's anguished face a bit, her eyes moving from his, while Harry stayed silent, lost for words.

***

The gem could feel power, the power that its host and its master had been feeding it, whether intentionally or unintentionally. But the gem could also fell an opposite power, a power that could destruct the one it built on, its one purpose. The gem throbbed silently. It knew that it had to destroy this bright ray of hope.

__

It is near…so near…

The gem began to softly glow. It's power would be at full height in a few months. As it pulsed, an illusion of red eyes surfaced from the depths of it's green. The eyes were dark, cold; contained nothing but evil within it. The eyes seemed to sneer.

__

Nothing can stop the evil…

***

The Great Hall filled with students just arriving. They talked and created noise, noise that somehow made Ron feel better. 

After their talk, the three friends had sat in silence. That had sat with their heads full of questions, full of possibilities and coincidences that they all analyzed and prodded and poked at. Ron's, in particular, buzzed with so many 'maybes' as he stumbled to find a 'maybe' that his vision had been a normal nightmare, one that didn't come true.

Then the mail came.

Ron saw an owl swoop down toward him, a sinking feeling entering his stomach as the bird fell in a rush of feathers and wind. A worse thought entered his mind as he made that the messenger was Errol.

__

Why would Mum use Errol? He's too old… Anxiety clawed at him. _What if the news was so urgent that they _had _to use him?_

The thought was not calming.

The owl dropped the letter in Ron's lap, then tumbled the rest of the way down to the ground with a soft thud, unconscious before he had even touched the floor.

"Errol!" Ron heard Hermione screech. Her voice was not important though… Errol was not important. His whole mind was fully on the letter that lay on his lap, the letter that held news so urgent that Errol had to send it.

"Ron?"

Harry was not important, but Ron forced himself to reply: "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, worry painted on his face.

"I dunno…" Ron muttered, mind not fully on what his friend was saying. The letter… The letter would tell him what news was so vital, what news he had to know, whether good or bad. But he couldn't force his stiff fingers to open the letter.

"Harry?" Ron asked in a whisper. "can you open it for me? I can't…."

Harry slowly took the letter from Ron. Hermione crowded in with Harry, obviously over the condition of Errol and fully on what was troubling Ron. With a subtle tremble in his fingers, Harry opened the letter. It was apparently from Ron's mum, but it was not cheerful, smudged in places with tears and written in shaky hand. 

"Read it, Harry?" Ron croaked.

The other sighed deeply. He looked down at the words in his hands.

__

--Ron,

There was an attack on the Ministry by the Dark Lord last night. Thank Goodness your father was home…but--

Lots are dead or hurt. I needed to write to you and tell you something that I think you should know. Don't panic. Everything is somewhat in control.

Harry paused. He couldn't bear to read on. Hermione's eyes were larger than he had ever seen, wide in horror and pity.

"Go on, Harry. What'd she want me to know?"

With a pause, Harry continued. 

__

Percy was at the Ministry…

Ron breathed in suddenly. Harry's next words seemed very loud, ringing in his ears, bells of anguish, pain, and sorrow.

__

He's not dead, but he's in critical condition…

***

Andeline saw Ron hurry out of the Great Hall, Harry and Hermione following him swiftly. Hermione had her hands over her mouth, looking terrified. Harry seemed paler and in shocked silence, a piece of paper in his clutches. The three of them ran toward the owlery. Andeline didn't think. She just followed their leaving backs. 

__

Tragedy…

The girl stopped. 

__

What?

Them…

She began to run again, silent and hasty. She didn't even make a sound.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry were writing a letter. At least, Ron was. They quickly tied it to a barn owl's leg. The large bird took off into the sky. 

Harry seemed to be thinking after the owl had taken off. Then, he too started writing a letter as fast as his hand could move. He gave the letter to his owl. Stroking Hedwig, he let her spread her wings and fly off to follow the other into the sky.

Andeline ducked into the shadows as the three of them came running out of the owlery, in her direction. They seemed to be headed toward Gryffindor Tower. Andeline stayed in the darkness for a few seconds after they passed her, then took a deep breath before following. 

***

"I can't believe it!" Ron gasped, still running, half out of breath, half from shock. "I told you my dreams come true! I _told _you!" Harry and Hermione didn't say anything. "Oh…." he moaned. "The Ministry! They're in havoc! Those who survived don't know what to do!"

They reached the portrait hole and Hermione muttered, "Shining Stars." The fat lady looked at the three of them skeptically, then opened. Harry, Ron, and Hermione slowed down after they entered, walking to their dormitories to grab their books and day supplies. They met in the Common Room, silent.

Ron sighed. "And we're off to Transfiguration…." he said unenthusiastically.

Harry nodded, murmuring a "Yeah," just as indifferently as his friend. "Let's go before we're late."

The trio walked out of Gryffindor Tower once more and went down many corridors and hallways wordlessly. They walked in an unthinking manner, as if they knew involuntarily where to go, until they reached their classroom. 

A muffled rush of words was running throughout the class. Harry wondered if any of their classmates had heard about the attack on the Ministry. It appeared so, because everyone turned around to look at the three of them, sympathetic faces shining in the crowd, all toward Ron. He practically ran to his seat, desperate to hide from his classmates' stares.

"C'mon!" he hissed at Hermione and Harry. "Hurry!"

The three of them sat together and peered silently at the floor, occasionally at the other students. Sometimes, Ron spotted Harry looking at him for only a brief instant, then turned away as if not to offend him. Ron did not blame his fried: if he were in Harry's position, he would not know what to say.

__

Why? Ronthought desperately, grasping through his mind for the answers that were not provided. _Why?_

His train of thought was rudely interrupted by Hermione. "Ron?" she whispered. "Are you alright?"

He turned to face her, answer plain on his face.

"Don't brood…please?" she said, uncertain. "I'm sure Percy will be fine…." she finished, doubt etched on her face. Yet, she had been trying to sheer him up, and Ron heard the misery in her voice. His gaze moved to see Harry's paled face.

"It's okay," Hermione said distractedly, her eyes on the floor once more.

Ron inhaled. "Yeah," he managed to say. "I'm sure everything will be okay." He shook his head. "Don't feel bad for me, okay? I don't need sympathy." 

Harry and Hermione smiled at him a little, looking awkward. Ron would've tried to smile back if he had not known that it would only turn into a grimace. So, instead, he said, "Hopefully, we won't have a pop-quiz today."

"Yeah," the other two said at the same time.

"I wonder what we'll do," Ron spoke. "Do you think Professor McGonagall will assign something hard?"

"Probably," Harry answered. 

"Hermione will get it, no doubt," Ron said. She gave him a look, but delight was in her eyes. 

The Professor entered right then, and the class was abruptly put into work-mode. Ron did not mind the tasks for once. He was glad that it took his mind off of the other things that plagued it. He was also glad that his two friends had gotten over pitying him and onto the matter at hand. There was no point in having them worry over him when there might be other things to focus on. Other things….

A strange sense suddenly washed over him, ice and flames, heat and rage. It passed as a wave would over water, and was gone, but left the tingling cold and heat in his bones. 

"Ron?" Harry asked.

"W-what?" he started. He blinked several times and shook his head, his thoughts clearing. "I'm fine," he stammered a bit. Harry nodded, still looking a bit concerned, but turned back to his work as Professor McGonagall drew closer to them. Ron turned to his own task.

__

How strange… he thought. _Am I going crazy now?_

He forced the thought out of his head, telling himself to concentrate. 

__

No. Everything's alright…

***

Vetil daydreamed. He was sitting in the Potions classroom while Professor Snape was busy lecturing everyone. The class was simple enough to the point of too easy, and the boy was bored as he stared at his cauldron. 

__

That night… The fire, the deaths…

How did Andeline see the truth? He shivered involuntarily, memory surfacing as the illusion of flames danced before his eyes.

__

"Run!"

"Vetil! No!"

There was a crackle, the smell of fire…

"It's all right."

The flames shot up the house. It lit the darkness around itself, but it didn't drive away the evil. There was another crackling sound as the house buckled. 

"NO!"

The flames enveloped the building. A sickening splintering sound was heard, and the house collapsed inward…

All lives lost, he thought. _No one could have survived that…_

Vetil looked up. Professor Snape was sweeping across the room in his usual fowl temper.

"You call that a potion?" he insulted April. "It's too thick! Ten points off Gryffindor!"

Vetil looked down at his own concoction. It must've been just right because the professor only scowled when he looked at it, passing quickly to take more points off. Vetil smiled inwardly to himself.

__

A second chance…

***

Christmas was nearing. The temperature dropped, and two weeks before the holiday, it snowed. 

Ron had nearly forgotten about his visions. Mrs. Weasley had sent them good news a few days after the attack. Percy was well, and they were attempting to reconstruct the ruins. 

"Oh! Good!" Hermione had exclaimed, relieved when Harry read the news (Ron did not want to touch the letter). 

Ron, too, had felt relief. From the look on his friends' faces, he knew they weren't too worried anymore. 

When the second sheet of snow covered the Hogwart's grounds, the three friends took a walk outside. They exited the building and went toward the lake, occasionally grabbing a bit of soft snow and tossing it at each other.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed when one hit her. She glared at him and flung a ball she made at him while Ron splattered him while he wasn't paying attention. 

"Hey!" Harry yelled. "No fair!" He wiped the snow off his glasses, where it had conveniently landed. 

Ron laughed. "C'mon. Let's go to the lake. I wonder if it's frozen."

"I doubt it," Harry said, eyes mischievous.

Ron looked at him suspiciously, but was too late to stop the snow that attacked him. Ron shook the white flakes off of him. "You're gonna get it!" he shouted.

The three laughed, running toward the lake while dodging each other's ammunition. By the time they reached the lake's bank, they were gasping for breath, one, because they had been running, and the other because they were shocking from laughter.

"Truce?" Hermione managed to say in a fit of gasps and giggles. 

The two boys nodded, agreeing. Ron wiped a layer of snow off one of the rocks by the edge. He sat down, seeing Harry and Hermione doing the same. They took deep breaths and sat in silence until they could properly talk once more.

Hermione sighed. "I love the winter snow."

"Yeah," Harry approved. "It's so peaceful."

Ron looked at the soft fluff covering the ground around him. It had a mysteriously comforting look to it, as if it were clouds. He debated if he could just fall on it and go to sleep.

Hermione cleared her throat in a manner that did not suggest a happy remark. "Er…Ron?" she asked. He looked at her. "Well," she said timidly, "I'm not sure if I should bring this up right now…but, are you having regular dreams now? I mean, have you had a nightmare again? If you have, you can tell us…"

Ron shrugged. "I haven't, and that's the truth."

Hermione nodded. Ron wasn't too sure if she believed him. It looked as if she had something on her mind.

"Um--" she started.

The bell for dinner rang, echoing through the white-covered land. Silence followed.

"Yes, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh…nothing. Let's go to dinner."

The two boys slowly got up. Hermione nearly jumped out of her seat as she hurried toward the castle, Ron and Harry watching her briefly with a baffled gaze. They looked at each other, then turned to follow their leaving friend.

Commotion filled the Great Hall. All the 7th years were looking very excited about something. The girls kept whispering to each other secretively while the boys glanced at the girls. Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked from one to the other in question as they took their seats.

About halfway through dinner, Professor McGonagall stood up and looked at the students. She seemed more radiant than usual. The chatter died down slower than normal, and when it was finally absolutely silent, the professor began to speak.

"As some of us have already heard…" (Some 7th year girls giggled), "we are having a dance for 7th year students only. This is their Christmas ball, one that can congradulate them for making it this far." The professor beamed at her students. "The ball will take place on Christmas Eve, while all remaining students above their 3rd year go to Hogsmeade."

There was an excited uproar for the rest of dinner. All the 7th year students were taking about the ball while the 3rd years and above that were staying fro Christmas (Harry, Ron, and Hermione included) discussed Hogsmeade. The second and first years sulked, saying that they never got any fun. 

"Oh! Imagine going to Hogsmeade on Christmas Eve! How fantastic!" Hermione said, absolutely buoyant. 

"Yeah! I can buy your Christmas presents there!" Harry said.

Ron glanced down the table at Parvati and Lavneder, who were both yapping about what they were going to buy. Farther down the table, he saw Vetil and Andeline. Ron frowned. He hadn't seent he first year girl in a long time. She must've gotten good at hiding herself. 

He turned around to look at his other two friends who were eating their dinner. He began to say something when a white flash exploded behind his eyes. 

__

"It's almost ready," a cold voice said from somewhere_._

Ron glanced at Harry. He didn't notice anything strange, but all the sounds from the Great Hall were dimmed, and the voice spoke again, ringing in Ron's ears.

__

"Yes… I will conquer!"

Another flash blinded him for a moment, and in that instant, the voice laughed, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up, filling his head and echoing in his mind. Then, it was gone.

Ron glanced around the hall. The voices were back to normal and he could hear clearly once more. No one had noticed anything.

__

What was that? A vision? he thought. He trembled slightly.

Ron looked at his friends. Harry and Hermione were talking. Ron doubt that they had noticed anything.

__

I…he thought. _I won't tell them. _

But…a voice spoke from inside his conscience, _no more lies…_

Ron bit his lip. Should he tell Hermione and Harry? He really didn't want to worryt hem, especially at a time like this. It was Christmas, and their cheery feelings would sink if the visions were mentioned again.

__

I won't tell them yet… I'm not lying…

But, a part of him argued. 

__

It's a mistake to keep secrets that are needed to be said…

***

Andeline swung around. Had she heard someone calling her name? She stared into darkness and shadows, only few torches lighting the corridor, flames dancing wildly in the opaque.

The blonde girl shivered, wrapping herself tighter in her robes. She too one last searching look down the hallway and turned to walk back the opposite direction. She stared blankly ahead, walking a swift pace.

__

I can feel it…

Andeline nodded. _My destiny, task, is to find the one. It is your purpose to find the possessed. _

The voice said again, _I feel it…the evil…_

Yes, Andeline answered. _It is growing stronger… _

Very forceful…. We have to find the source before it reaches it's full heigth and power…

What happens if we don't? Andeline started to jog down the corridor. She had a sickening feeling that someone or something was present by her…watching her…

__

If we don't…

Silence rang around her.

__

If we don't, the voice continued, _then another generation of hope is lost…_

Andeline ran, the small hairs on the back of her neck standing up. Something burned into her back, eyes boring into her…

__

This is the fight between good and evil that will determine the future.

Andeline nodded to herself. She turned a corner, still sprinting deeper into the darkness. She kept running, words flooding her head, thoughts from other, thoughts from herself. 

__

We have to find the evil power… We have to…

The girl abruptly stopped, the words disappearing from her mind. She slowly turned to her right, rotating on the spot. She caught her breath, eyes searching, wide.

A fierce wind suddenly swept into her, sending her loose hair flying everywhere.

__

What? she thought, confused.

She clutched tightly at her robes and trembled. The relentless wind kept flying at her and around her, dancing to the night, dancing to the sound

Andeline gasped. There was no mistake now. She had heard something, even beyond the wind.

The storm of air flew on in fury, and suddenly the torches went out. She was plunged into darkness, freezing, paralyzed in fear. The wind blew to a breeze, slowed, then stopped. Silence rang aournd her, loud as silence could be.

Then, someone said her name.

__

Andeline…

She lost her nerve, spinning on her heel and sprinting blindly into the pitch, black, darkness. Allt eh while…the voice called, chasing her, following her…

__

Andeline… 


End file.
